Live to Die Another Day
by Reader06
Summary: Reincarnated!Tsunade; AU; Other Surprises - When Tsunade died at the end of the Second Great Ninja War - defeating Hanzo of the Rain and stopping Iwa in their tracks - Konoha gained a strategic advantage over the other great nations. However, the darkness in the world only continued to grow. It will take a miracle to overcome it now. Or... Tsunade betting against herself.
1. Chapter 1

_._

 _I had died with a smile on my face._

 _._

 _I had lost every single one of my family members to some type of war or battle. Dan and Nawaki were all I had left and then… I had lost them too. Jiraiya tried to keep my spirits up – telling me that I still had family in him, Orochimaru and Sensei._

 _And I… didn't want to hurt his feelings. The war had been taking just as much from him as it had from me. So… I put on my best smile and nodded._

 _I couldn't tell him…_

 _Not after one of his students had been delivered back to him from Iwa in a box – mangled and burned beyond all recognition._

 _...that my feelings for him didn't equate to how I feel – felt – about Dan and Nawaki. And… that they never would._

 _Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Sensei were important to me – they were my comrades in battle and that meant much more than combination of kanji could explain._

 _But… Dan and Nawaki were different._

 _As strong and as intelligent as Dan was… every single time Dan was on the battle field, I could never calm my paranoia. Where was he at? Who was he facing? Did he have any injuries? Did he have a defense against advance earth jutsu? What if he needs me and I'm not there? What if… what if…_

 _And Dan is – was – just as powerful as Jiraiya and Orochimaru. There was no reason to believe he would die before them – not when those two had been sent to the front lines far more often than Dan._

 _But to me, the stakes weren't the same._

 _And I was no fool when it came to my luck – or curse of luck._

 _Jiraiya and Orochimaru were my genin teammates, comrades, and lifelong friends. Sensei was my teacher after losing my grandfather and granduncle – not to mention my Hokage. They were important to me._

 _But they weren't my reason for breathing; my reason for getting up in the morning and smiling; my reason for gritting my teeth as metal cut my skin, fire burned my flesh, and chakra shattered my bones; they weren't the reason I shoved aside the emotional pain of taking another life, when I had made a promise to heal, not kill._

 _Dan and Nawaki were._

 _They were my sun, my air, and my happiness._

 _And then they were gone._

 _ **Gone.**_

 _I entered the Rain Country with nothing left to lose. I knew the stakes – the entire war would be watching this battle. If the Leaf defeated the Rain County's leader, Hanzo, then Konoha would hold a strategical advantage over Iwa. Iwa would be forced into a corner and because this war was started so closely following the end of the First Great Ninja War, Iwa would not have the resources available to do more than defend their lands. Konoha was equally as devastated and as such, would not pursue Iwa into the Earth Country, but the Leaf would still hold a strategic advantage over Iwa if they ever decided to push forward again._

 _I couldn't protect the lives of the people I cared for most…_

… _but I could finish what they started. I could protect the village from this war._

 _I didn't just_ _ **know**_ _it was going to cost me my life._

 _ **I bet on it.**_

 _._

 _It was probably the first time in my life I had won that bet._

 _._

 _Jiraiya was mad. I remember him screaming at me as the rain poured around us – telling me to heal myself, to get up, that everything would be ok…_

 _I turned my head to Orochimaru instead. I knew he would know what I was asking for._

" _ **You did it. You killed Hanzo. The rest of his forces have been killed or captured. Konoha has won Ame**_ _."_

 _I knew he was angry at me too – Orochimaru just showed it in different ways._

 _I was sure, when Sensei arrived, he would be mad at me too._

 _._

 _I smiled anyways._

 _I had fulfilled my brother's and lover's wills and now…_

 _I would get to join them._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

"Kirakira hikaru~" A child's voice sang softly, "Osora no hoshi yo~"

" _Uggg…_ " Tsunade thought to herself as her brain slowly woke up, " _What the hell kind of meds did they put me on?!_ " Tsunade groaned in her head again, " _It feels like a picked a fight with a mountain and_ _ **lost**_ _._ "

"Mabataki shite wa~" The voice continued in a light, melodic tone, "Minna wo miteru~"

Tsunade groaned again, " _And what with the singing?!_ " Tsunade quickly cursed her teammate in her head, " _Tch! I bet this is Jiraiya's way of getting back and me for trying to commit battlefield suicide…_ "

""Kirakira hikaru~" The child continued followed by a quick giggle.

The expert medic groaned in her head for the third time, " _I endure broken bones, ripped flesh, multiple concussions, and the blood curdling sensation of being drenched in poison… all for the sake of Konoha…"_

"Osora no hoshi yo…" The small voice fades off – signaling the end of the song.

" _And they can't even let me die in peace…_ " Tsunade thought as she let out a small sigh.

"Ah! You're so cute Tsu-chan!" The child's voice squeals out softly – as if he is trying not to wake Tsunade up.

" _Excuse me?_ " Tsunade thought with a scowl as she begrudgingly started opening her eyes.

"Oh no!" The boy cried suddenly, "Shh, shh Tsu-chan! Go back to sleep! Big brother is sorry he woke you!"

Tsunade blinking rapidly in order for her vision to clear as things started to quickly go downhill, " _Big brother? Who the hell does this kid think he is?!_ "

Large black eyes opened wide and focused on the surroundings around her. It was dark – nighttime clearly – but the moon was full and was shining brightly into the room. It was a simple residential bedroom – nothing like the hospital room Tsunade was picturing in her head. Possibly even more concerning than **where** she was, was how **big** everything seemed to be. She was in a bed – or rather… next to a bed.

Tsunade felt a cold shiver run down her back when she realized **what** she was on. She in a baby cot, rolled up next to a twin sized bed.

And on that bed, lying on his side and staring at her, was a dark haired boy with large, sparkling onyx eyes and an even larger, brighter smile on his face.

"Kirakira hikaru~" The boy began singing softly again, "Osora no hoshi yo~"

.

.

.

" _Damn you Lady Luck!_ "

.

.

.

Tsunade screamed all night long in protest.


	2. Chapter 2

.

"Off! Get off of me you overgrown infant!" Tsunade screamed as she thrashed around in desperation.

The fourteen year old boy pouted as he let go his little sister, "But Tsu-chan!" The dark haired boy sighed dramatically as he held up two large, baby blue bows, "These would look soooo cute on you!"

Tsunade stomped her feet and crossed her arms, "I'm already cute."

The boy grinned and laughed at his little sister before sighing sadly, "But just think about how much **more** cute you would be with little blue bows in your pretty blonde hair!"

"Shisui!" Tsunade shouted as she pointed her finger at the larger boy, "Those are **not** little! They're bigger than my head!"

Shisui lifted the bows to look at them, "They're not that big…"

Tsunade's eye twitched dangerously, "Are you saying my head is big?!"

Shisui sweatdropped and looked up towards the clock on the wall, "Well look at the time! Kari's going to yell at me for being late again!" The elder sibling quickly tossed the bows behind him and kneeled down to Tsunade's level to ruffle her hair, "Promise you won't bully Sasuke-kun while I'm gone?"

Tsunade crossed her arms with a huff.

"Tsubaki…" Shisui spoke with a warning tone.

Tsunade rolled her eyes and shrugged, "Fine! But I can't be held responsible for any momentary lapses in sanity after spending an **hour** being forced to listen how his precious Itachi-nii shits out rainbows and unicorns."

Shisui sighed dramatically before flicking his sister's nose, "Don't cuss."

Tsunade grabbed her nose at the slight pain and glared up at Shisui. The elder boy laughed at his sister's expression before picking up his weapon pouch and chunin vest, "I'll be back tomorrow morning Tsu-chan. There's leftovers in the fridge." Shisui walked over to the front door and opened it up, "Don't just eat the meat! And don't throw the vegetables away! I'll know if you did!"

Tsunade rolled her eyes, "Yes, yes." Tsunade made a shooing motion at Shisui.

Shisui pouted at his sister's attitude before sighing and walking through the door, "Be good Tsu-chan! Big brother will be back soon!" Just as he was about to close it, he peeked his head back in and grinned widely at Tsunade, "Love you!" Shisui flickered away in the next second.

Tsunade smiled lightly at the now closed door, " _He's such a dork._ "

Tsunade looked around the small house. The dwelling was quite unlike the Senju mansion she had grew up in the first time, but after six years in the quant Uchiha hut, Tsunade couldn't think of another place she wanted to call home.

However… right now, it was too quiet.

Small legs rapidly moved towards the shoe stand. Tsunade quickly put on a pair of dark blue sandals to match her deep blue dress and cream colored, puffy shorts. Tsunade barely had the other shoe on as she raced out the door – closing it behind her with slight slam.

It was a bright and warm day with barely any clouds in the sky. Tsunade grinned at the view before quickly racing down the street towards the compound's gates. " _Dango, here I come!_ " Tsunade smirked to herself. She had been saving up money that her brother 'dropped' for a month or so now. At first, Tsunade fantasized she would be using the money to gamble or buy some booze, but eventually came to the reality that she would need to build her chakra up more before that.

She just needed enough chakra to hold the henge jutsu for a few hours…

" _Soon… very soon!_ " Tsunade thought to herself with a crackle.

Tsunade slowed her pace down as she came to the clan's gate. It was early enough in the morning that many in the clan were also leaving for the day – either missions, shopping, training, or just to get out. The former medic quickly shuffled into the shadows of a couple of civilian Uchiha adults – sticking close, but not close enough to be noticed.

It was best not to attract attention.

"Tsubaki! Look Itachi-nii! It's Tsubaki!" A loud, whiney voice called out – much to Tsunade pure and utter dread, " _Damn brat…_ "

Many Uchiha adults turned to look for the blonde and immediately spotted her. Tsunade ignored the sneers and disgusted looks as she made her way over to the boy that screamed out her location. Tsunade's eye twitched at Sasuke's wide and triumphed grin.

Tsunade made the mistake of telling the young Uchiha that she was playing hide and seek with the adults of the clan – thinking that he would leave her alone as she tried to evade her clan members – but that only seemed to encourage the boy to go out of his way to find her every morning. Apparently she had not made it clear that he was **not** invited in on the 'game'.

"Ah, Sasuke-kun. It seems you have spotted Tsubaki-chan once again." Itachi responded calmly with a slight smile on his face. Tsunade glared up at the elder Uchiha. She knew that he knew what she meant, but he found his little brother's determination and excitement at finding Tsunade too cute to deter him.

Tsunade turned her irritated gaze on Sasuke and flicked his nose – much like her brother had done that morning – and proceeded to hiss at him, "Don't you have anything better to do, baka?"

Sasuke grabbed his nose and glared at Tsunade.

Itachi chuckled lowly at the pair before quickly cutting in before the two got into another fight, "Where is Shisui this morning?"

Tsunade shrugged up at the elder Uchiha boy, "Mission? He went to meet his team… said he'd be back tomorrow morning."

Itachi nodded and paused for a second before speaking in a calm voice again, "Would you like to join Sasuke and I, Tsubaki?"

Sasuke quickly cut in before his brother could finish, "Older brother! You said you would train with **me** today!"

Itachi smiled down at his little brother as Sasuke gave him a pout, "Ah, I did." Itachi motioned to Tsubaki, "But it would be rude not to invite your friend Sasuke-kun. Especially since Shisui will be out of the village today."

Sasuke crossed his arms and mumbled, "Tsubaki isn't my friend." Onyx eyes narrowed on Tsunade's bored expression, "She's mean!"

Tsunade grinned wickedly at Sasuke, "Ah, is little baby Sasuke afraid of a girl?" Tsunade leaned in to Sasuke's face and smirked, "Gonna go hide behind your precious big brother?"

Sasuke turned red and glared at Tsunade before leaning as well and lock eyes with Tsunade, "Am not! You're just so ugly, it makes me want to barf!"

Tsunade's eyes twitched dangerously as she struggled to keep her smirk in place, " _This little…!_ "

Sasuke smirked at Tsunade's expression – which only infuriated Tsunade even more. A light bulb went off in Tsunade's head and her wicked grin was back up. Quickly, Tsunade gathered saliva in her mouth and hurled a wad of spit right between his eyes.

"Ahhhh!" Sasuke cried out as he fell back and desperately tried to wipe the disgusting liquid off of his face.

Itachi sighed at the pair of children and brought his palm to his face while shaking his head.

Tsunade stood triumphantly over the small Uchiha boy with her arms crossed and laughed loudly.

"So vulgar." A voice far behind Tsunade sneered, "How Fugaku-sama **tolerates** her kind here is beyond me."

Tsunade stopped laughing as the hushed voices echoed around her.

"The mutt can't even respect those that are **clearly** superior to her."

"What can you expect with someone with **their** blood running through her veins? She's no better than the savages she is bore from."

"I think the better question is why does Hikaru keep feeding her? He's already got a son that looks and acts like an Uchiha, despite what his mother was. Not to mention the fact that he actually brings pride to the clan with his Sharingan and achievements."

Tsunade's jaw clenched harshly as she tried to ignore the voices. Tsunade was once again grateful she was reborn into this body instead of a new soul. No child should have to go through such verbal and mental abuse for something they couldn't control. Tsunade could handle it though. She may grit her teeth and imagine pummeling the lot of them with her fists, but Tsunade was an adult on the inside. She knew any bitterness and cruelness spewed her way was a reflection of the people **they** were – not who she was.

A dark aura flooded the street and it quickly cut off the sneers and cold looks.

Itachi stared coldly at his clansmen and women. He may only be eleven, but that didn't make him any less deadly – being the prodigy he was.

Tsunade clicked her teeth and looked back at Sasuke, "Pff! Like I wanted to hang out with you anyways. I have my own shit to do."

Itachi sighed at Tsunade as he let his chakra drop – clearing the air slightly, "Tsubaki… language…"

Tsunade stilled and gave Itachi a narrowed, side eyed look, "Shisui put you up to this, didn't he?" Tsunade rubbed her chin with narrow eyes, "I'll pay you double to switch sides."

Itachi shook his head with a small smile.

Sasuke huffed at Tsunade before looking up at his brother and whining slightly, "Come on Itachi-nii! We're burning sun!"

Itachi smiled at his brother, "It's 'burning daylight' Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke snorted, "Whatever." The small boy yanked on his elder brother's sleeve, "Come on!"

Itachi chuckled quietly at his little brother, "Yes, yes." Itachi turned to Tsunade and nodded politely at her, "Have a good day Tsubaki-chan."

Tsunade's eye twitched slightly at the 'chan' part, but nodded the same to him before watching the pair walk out the gates.

" _Now's my chance…_ " Tsunade thought as she zipped through the thinning crowd of Uchiha clansmen and out the gates. Once on the other side, Tsunade placed her hands on her hips and grinned at herself, " _Finally!_ " Breaking out into a run, Tsunade pushed herself to get to the center of the village as quick as possible.

Shisui barely let her out of his sight most days and on days that he was on missions, he usually sent someone he knew to watch over her. This latest mission, or whatever it was he was on, was last minute and as such, he couldn't find anyone last minute. Tsunade was just glad that Itachi didn't push her to follow the two of them. Tsunade silently thanked Sasuke for having such a brother-complex – and that Itachi also possessed the same complex.

Onyx eyes spied the area as Tsunade shuffled to a stop – panting lightly from running the whole way there. The blonde grinned widely. She was here finally.

Looking up, she grinned at the carved mountain side. Above her were four faces – three of which she recognized and the fourth she became aware of through stories. She silently wondered when a fifth face would be carved. After the Fourth Hokage passed – protecting the village from the Nine Tailed Beast – her former sensei took over, but that had been almost six years ago now. Surely Hiruzen knew that he needed to pick another successor?

Tsunade frowned before shaking her head and proceeding to walk down the streets of downtown Konoha.

"Dango, dango, dango~" Tsunade started to hum as she nearly skipped down the road. While she preferred fried chicken and booze, the former medic had quite the sweet tooth and right now, it could only be sated with the amazingness that was dango.

.

"Ah! Mommy! I dropped my ice cream!" A small boy wailed as he began to cry.

Tsunade turned around to watch the scene. A young woman with a royal blue scarf around her neck quickly crouched down to her crying child and lightly placed a hand on his head and kissed his forehead, "Hush dear. A little spilled ice cream is nothing to cry over. Let's clean this up and then we'll go back to the park and get some more. How does that sound?"

The three-year-old, spikey brown haired boy sniffed a few times before nodding and stuttering out a 'yeah'.

" _Ice cream?_ " Tsunade thought as she barely focused on the two as she thought of the light, icy, sugary goodness. Tsunade grinned excitedly and spun around to face the direction of Konoha's park, " _You scream ice cream, I scream ice cream, we all scream for ice cream!_ "

Tsunade began humming to herself again as she made her way to the park. Once she was she reached its outskirts, she paused to look around, " _Meh, parks are so boring. A casino would have been a better idea._ " Tsunade smiled to herself as she thought about it, " _The crab tables would be over there… a small poker room in the back…_ "

Tsunade pushed the thought of getting to gamble again aside as she took in the activities taking place around her.

Just ahead of her, a group of children were laughing and squealing as they chased each other around the swing sets. Off to the side, stood their parents as they watched their screaming kids with mild interest as they exchanged the town's latest gossip with the other adults present.

At the other end of the park, there was a man running around in circles with a paper kite in his hand, trying to show his son how to fly a kite – who was too busy laughing at his father as the tri-colored fish continued to smack the man in the face, rather than fly.

Just a few feet away from the pair was a pair of old men playing shogi – each trying to cheat the other by point at things behind the other and swapping out shogi pieces when one of them looked.

Everywhere Tsunade looked, she saw a similar scene of goofiness and fun.

She couldn't help but smile.

" _I suppose a park was an ok idea._ " Tsunade crossed her arms, " _Or a casino with a park! Now_ _ **that's**_ _an idea!_ "

Tsunade grinned widely to herself as she continued to watch the group of children play – now kicking around a small ball – when one of the kids kicked the ball a little too hard and it went flying. Tsunade watched the ball with interest as it landed a distance away – just a couple yards away from her on her left. Tsunade turned to see couple of the boys started running to grab the ball when they suddenly stopped. Tsunade looked back over to the ball and saw why they stopped.

A small boy, no older than six, picked up the ball. The boy looked from the ball to the group of kids that were playing with the ball. A couple of the boys grinned and yelled at the boy to join them. Tsunade shook her head with a smile, " _If only we never lost that excitement to meet and make friends so easily… would we still be so quick to start wars and end lives?_ "

The small boy blinked in surprise before giving them a large, bright grin – full of hope and infinite joy. A brighter smile than anything her brother, Shisui, had ever displayed – who Tsunade was certain ran off of smiles and silliness.

Tsunade hissed in air as her heart constricted painfully. His smile…

" _Nawaki…_ "

.

"Look, isn't that **the** boy?" Spoke one of the women watching over the children, breaking Tsunade's gaze from the blond boy to turn back.

Tsunade looked at the group of children playing kickball, " _Which boy is she talking about?_ "

"Oh kami… you're right!" Another of the women gasped before running over and grabbing one of the kids, "Come on Kazu, we're going home!"

Tsunade watched in confusion as the other parents followed suit, each grabbing their kids and pulling them away – either going home or taking them to another spot in the park – until only the small boy from before was left.

" _The hell…?_ " Tsunade thought as she stared at the fleeing parents bewildered, " _Does this kid have some sort of deadly disease or something?_ " Tsunade's muscle stilled as her stomach flipped, " _Or is it like with me? Is he an outcast too?_ " Tsunade bit her lip in mild anger at the thought of the child before her being treated in such a way.

"What did I tell you about playing with that boy?" Tsunade heard one of the women scowl at her kid as she pulled them away, "That boy is dangerous!"

" _Dangerous?_ " Tsunade thought and she stared at the boy. The boy looked on the verge of tears as he stood lifelessly in the middle of the park – staring longingly at the backs of the fleeing children and parents. After a moment, the boy frowned and shrugged before stomping away towards the market.

" _Wait!_ " Tsunade shouted in her head as her feet carried her forward unconsciously. The small blonde scurried after the boy as he slipped into the heavy flow of traffic in the market street. It was high noon which meant it was lunch time. Longs lines were forming outside of food stands and restaurants. One ramen stand was particularly packed with rowdy people.

Tsunade made a grunting noise as she squeezed through people's legs and side stepped various pairs of shoes. " _Dammit kid! Slow down!_ " Tsunade ranted as her eyes continued to be locked on the child's blond spikes as he easily glided through the large clumps of people.

The former medic growled to herself as she pushed her legs harder, in order to catch up. She would not be bested by some _child_ – no matter the conditions Tsunade currently found herself in. Tsunade's lips lifted into a triumphant smirk when she saw the boy stop to stare longingly at one of various ramen stands.

" _I got you now!_ " Tsunade thought as she raced up to the boy with her hand extended out to grab a hold of him.

*SMACK*

"Gyah!" Tsunade cried out in pain as something large and heavy slammed into her small frame. Her face hit the hard dirt ground with a thud before the rest her body followed and the force of it all caused her to skid across the road on her front.

"Ahhh shiiit…" A raspy deep voice stuttered out slowly, "I spilled my b-booze…"

Tsunade planted her small hands flat on the ground as tears of pain formed in her eyes. With a clenched jaw and a promise of death, Tsunade pushed her small body off the ground and quickly snapped her head around, "Watch where you're going, you drunk-assed idiot!"

The large drunkard stared at his empty bottle of wine before falling back, flat on the ground.

Tsunade's eyes twitched at the smelly old man as he proceeded to sleep in the middle of the insanely busy street without a single worry in the world. " _Note to self: Never become a drunk._ " Tsunade thought to herself as she stood up and began to smack the dirt off her clothes. Pushing a small amount of chakra out, Tsunade quickly healed the scrapes on her hands before looking around her.

"Cht!" Tsunade clicked her teeth in anger, " _Where'd that damn kid go?!_ "

Tsunade quickly took off in a sprint towards the ramen stand – figuring the boy went there after staring at it with uncontrollable desire. She poked her blonde head in and even though it was packed to the brim with overly enthusiastic men, she quickly concluded that there were no small blonde there except herself.

Exiting the stand, Tsunade huffed as she turned her head back and forth to eye the area around her. Onyx eyes narrowed, " _Nothing… damn._ " Tsunade let out a sigh and folded her arms, " _Maybe he went down this way…_ " Tsunade slowly started walking down the dirt path in the direction she thought he might have gone, " _The way those women looked at him..._ " Tsunade let out a snort, " _Disgusting! The whole lot of them! This village was created to protect children – not beat them down before turning them into disposable killing machines…_ "

Tsunade continued down the long path as the crowd began to thin into just a couple people. Tsunade's expression dropped as her eyes focused out, " _Who am I to judge? I should have spoken out against sensei and the council. I should have demanded that Konoha's founding principle be followed – damn the war and damn the need! The moment we folded on our ethics and morals was the moment we lost who we were._ " Tsunade stopped and sighed heavily, "Perhaps he would still be alive if I had just been braver..."

As Tsunade mumbled to herself, she suddenly became aware how quiet it was. The small blonde frowned, " _Where is everyone?_ "

She was standing near a small ally way off of the main strip and there were barely any shops around – and the ones that were there seemed to be already closed for the day. The buildings surrounding her seemed to be apartments or small homes, but Tsunade quickly noticed that the entire area didn't seem to be that well-kept. Trash was piled up against the sides of the buildings and a few of the windows had cracks in them.

Tsunade's feet made small pattering noises as she turned down one of the alley ways, " _I have a bad feeling about this…_ "

" _I don't remember Konoha being this run down…_ " Tsunade thoughts as she gazed at the all the garbage and sleeping homeless people, " _Even the red light district didn't look so… run down._ " Tsunade's nose crinkled as a particularly bad smell hit it, "Smells like death…"

"Well forgive us for not being up to your standards, princess." A cocky voice drawled out from behind her. Tsunade quickly spun around to see two young men appearing from the shadows of the alley's walls. Dark eyes narrowed as she caught a couple beer cans and cigarette buds littered the ground next to them.

The tall one on the right, with light brown hair that came to his chin, spoke out again, "What? Cat got your tongue princess?"

Tsunade's jaw clenched. She tolerated being called a princess by Jiraiya because he was a loving idiot and her teammate, but the nickname always left a bad taste in her mouth. And she didn't have to be a genius to know this man wasn't using it as a term of endearment.

Tsunade decided to just roll her eyes and continue on the path ahead. She quickly paused in her step and frowned when a large, chubby man with a buzz cut stepped out to block her way out.

The brunette behind her laughed, "You didn't really think we'd just let you walk out of here without teaching you some respect, did you?" The man grinned wickedly, "After all, it's rude to call someone else's home smelly. Wouldn't you say?"

Tsunade's narrowed eyes shifted from the brute in front of her to the two lanky, but tall men behind her, " _Both exits are blocked off… shit!_ " Tsunade's eyes rapidly took in the surroundings around her, " _There's a fire escape on my left that leads up to the roof, but I doubt I'll be quicker than these thugs. I'll have to outsmart them somehow..._ "

"How much do you think Yukimori-san will pay for her?" The black haired man behind her asked with a yawn.

The brunette grinned at his friend, "I like how you think Ito." The man's dark eyes shifted to the large thug with the buzz cut, "Jiro, if you would do the honors?"

The chubby man grinned at his friend and stalked forward towards Tsunade, "Just stay where you are and you won't get hurt little girl."

Tsunade lifted a hand to her face to whip the tears in her eyes as she started making hiccup noises, "P-please mister! I just want my mommy!"

The brute's wicked grin widened, "Don't worry; we're going to take you to your mommy. I promise."

Tsunade sniffed and look up at the man with big brown eyes, "You are?"

"Uhuh." The man said with a nod as he bent forward to grab Tsunade by the arm, "Well, I'm sure at least some whore at the brothel will want to be your mom-."

Tsunade spat a large wad of saliva straight into the large man's eyes before quickly zipping around him and through the alley.

"Ah, bitch!" The brute cursed as he tried to wipe the spit out of his eyes.

"After her!" The brown haired thug yelled as they all sprinted after her.

Tsunade didn't waste energy turning her head back as she pushed what little chakra she had to sprint away from the trio. Tsunade's heart pounded violently from the adrenaline of getting caught and sold to some whore house and from the intense pressure she was putting on her body to go faster.

The small blonde raced past piles of garbage and savaging animals – her eyes desperately searching for someone, anyone that could help her – before she made the decision to make a hard right down a thin opening between two buildings.

Just as she squeezed through the gap, the men caught up with her and cursed loudly. "I can't fit in there!" One of the shouted – probably the largest of the three.

"Calm down you idiot!" The brunette growled taking off, down another road, "Stay here Jiro! Ito, this way!"

The chubby man grumbled but stayed where he was and glared at Tsunade.

Tsunade glared back, but cursed her luck in her head, " _That scum's smarter than I thought…_ " Tsunade quickly looked around her as her small body was pressed in between the two buildings. " _That's a long way up… I'm probably going to waste all my chakra climbing a wall this tall... I shouldn't have wasted any chakra on some small wounds..._ " Tsunade turned to look out at the other exit of the small crevice and saw the two other thugs appear out of breath. " _I knew they would be able to get around quicker than I could squeeze through…_ "

The brown haired man smirked at Tsunade as he caught his breath, "Game over princess."

Tsunade groaned as she banged her forehead against the brick wall of the building, "Damn my shitty assed luck…"

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" A loud, squeaky male voice shouted.

Tsunade turned her head to see the largest of the thugs turn his head in curiosity before getting smashed in the face by a small, blue sandal covered foot.

"Gyah!" The large man called out as he smacked the blond boy away as he brought his hands to his face, "Damn brats! Leave me beautiful face alone!"

Tsunade sweatdropped, " _That guy has no self-awareness…_ " The former medic quickly pulled herself from her thoughts as she realized two things.

One – that blond boy was the one from earlier and…

Two – that thug was going to pulverize the clueless kid.

"Get out of here!" Tsunade shouted at the boy, "These guys are way out of your league!" Tsunade could tell none of the men were shinobi, but they had more than enough muscle to take on an untrained six-year-old.

The blond boy's face twisted into a stubborn look, "Don't worry fair princess! I am here to save the day! My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I'm going to be the Hokage one day! Believe it!"

Tsunade's jaw fell open at the boy's declaration and at his poor attempt to take a fighting stance. It was like something she had seen out of the show 'Power Ninjas'! Absolutely ridiculous and left him open to an attack at almost every angle.

" _T-the-the IDIOT!_ " Tsunade thought in a mix between shock and rage.

Tsunade opened her mouth to cuss the boy out for being so reckless when she was cut off at the sight of the large thug punching Naruto hard in the gut.

"Kid!" Tsunade called out as she started to shimmy out of the tight space.

"Is that all you got?!" Naruto shouted as he stood up with gritted teeth before running forward with his own fist raised.

The thug, Jiro, smirked as he easily caught Naruto's fist and lifted the boy in the air.

"Let me go you big turd!" Naruto shouted angrily as he flailed around violently.

The buzzed cut brute sneered at the boy before suddenly smirking, "Wait… you're that kid! The one everyone is afraid of!"

Tsunade stopped suddenly as she escaped the gap between the buildings at the thugs words.

Naruto growled, "Yeah! What of it?!"

The man shook his head with a deep laugh, "They call you a monster… that your some rabid dog just waiting for the chains to break so he can rip us all to shreds…"

Tsunade stared wide eyed at Naruto, " _Just… what is this boy? That so many people in the village… even lowly thugs…_ " Tsunade shook her head, " _No. If the last six years has taught me anything, it's that this village has changed. Even if I understand why the Uchiha hate me so much… there's no reason for so many people to treat this boy so cruelly!_ "

Jiro's laugh grew as his grip tightened on Naruto's hand – crushing it painfully and making the boy wince – before flinging the boy around like he weighed nothing, "People are more pathetic than I thought! You're nothing but a weak, little brat! Hahaha!"

Naruto growled before pulling himself up and sinking his teeth in the large man's hand.

"Gyah!" The man yelled as he flung Naruto across the street and recoiled his hand, "Fucking little bastard!"

Naruto pushed through the pain and quickly got up, but couldn't get out of the way quick enough as the large thug swung a kick into his gut.

"Ahhh!" Naruto screamed out as he was flung into the wall of the alley before sinking down into a curled up position – holding his stomach in pure pain.

"Dammit!" Tsunade cursed as she ran forward to help the blond boy. She was quickly stopped short as two sets of arms grabbed her. Onyx eyes whipped around in panic as she realized the two other thugs had run back and currently had her pinned.

"You didn't think we forgot about you princess? Did you?" The brown haired one sneered with a wicked grin on his face before licking her cheek, "I know a few guys who would pay quite nicely for a pretty thing like you."

Tsunade felt her breakfast threaten to come back up before pushing her disgust to the side and focusing on her anger. Onyx eyes hardened on the man as Tsunade hissed out, "I'm going to **end you**."

The man laughed loudly, "Oh! That's cute!" The man grabbed Tsunade's chin, "I don't think you know how fucked you are princess. You're trapped and with no way out. As for your knight in shining armor…" The man turned Tsunade's face towards Naruto's crumbled form. The large thug with the buzz cut walked over to blond and picked the nearly fainted kid by the collar – lifting him high up in the air before bring fist back.

"…let just say Jiro's got some steam to let out." The man spoke with a dark chuckle.

Tsunade's eyes went wide as her heart plummeted, "NO!" The former medic started to struggle against the two men, "LEAVE HIM ALONE! HE'S JUST A KID!"

The large thug grinned wickedly as body twisted back further before swing his fist straight for Naruto.

"NOOOO! NAWAKI!" Tsunade screamed as her chakra pulsed violently around her. Pushing all her chakra into her arms, Tsunade pulled them out of the men's grips – taking them completely by surprised – before swinging her arms back and smashing both men's faces in.

Blood flew through the air as the men screamed out in pain – their hands quickly going to their faces to press against their broken noses and shattered cheek bones.

The largest of the thugs stopped his fist in mid-air when he heard his friends scream out in pain and turned to look.

Tsunade bit her bottom lip **hard** – drawing blood – to push aside the horrific pain of her broken arms before push chakra into her legs and speeding towards the large brute holding the small boy.

" **GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF OF HIM!** " Tsunade roared.

The large man's eyes widened as crazed black eyes closed in on him – promising death. Quickly, he dropped Naruto and raised his fist to punch Tsunade back.

Time slowed as Tsunade's onyx eyes focused on the large brute's large fist.

Her arms were done. She had been lazy these last six years and hadn't taken the time to train and develop the chakra points in her body. She didn't see a reason. She was physically six! And now, it was coming back to bite her. She pushed too much chakra into her arms and then used them to achieve a feat larger than her bones could take.

She felt her legs burn from the sudden rush of chakra as well – walking would be hard after this, she could already tell.

And then there was her chakra. What little she had was currently pulsing through her legs and she momentarily worried what that meant for her heart. The body, every body, needed chakra – even if it was just a small amount – to keep the heart pumping.

And she just moved all her chakra to her legs to rush forward.

With no plan.

No plan at all.

.

Onyx eyes drifted down and to the side – to where Naruto laid. Tsunade's heart broke as she took in how crumpled, bruised, and bloodied he looked. He was so small – barely looked his age.

Underfed – her mind supplied. Malnourished – another thought formed.

Where were his parents?

Did he have parents?

Family?

Love ones?

.

Why did he try to save her?

 _ **My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I'm going to be the Hokage one day! Believe it!**_

.

" _Idiot._ " Tsunade thought as her eyes became heavy and her feet faltered in mid step in her sprint towards the final thug. Tsunade smirked at herself as she felt her body start to fall forward – her broken arms flailing behind her pathetically, " _Guess that makes two of us…_ "

Tsunade's body hit the ground hard just in front of the large man. Arms posed awkwardly at her sides, her front flat on the dirty ground, her face turn to her right, and her eyes half open and out of focus.

The large brute blinked at the small girl – not expecting her to suddenly collapse.

"Ahh! Damn fucking whore!" The brown haired thug and leader of the group cussed out, "Jiro! Kill that bitch!"

Jiro looked at his friend confused, "I thought we were gonna sell her and make lots of money?"

The brown haired man's eyes burned in rage, "DID YOU SEE WHAT SHE DID TO MY FACE?!"

The large man grimaced at his leader's misshaped face, "Got it boss." Jiro sighed at the loss of all the money they could have earned as he pulled out a short knife from his side. Crouching down, the large man pulled Tsunade up by her blonde hair – making the small girl squeak out a cry of pain as her broken arms moved awkwardly to follow the movement of her body.

The buzz cut man shook his head at Tsunade, "We could have done this the easy way, but I guess it's too late to try to teach you that now, huh?"

Tsunade felt the cold, hard metal press against her neck – already drawing blood at the pressure of the blade.

" _This is how I die, huh?_ " Tsunade thought with far away eyes and a cold disposition, " _I defeat Suna's best in the art of poisons and medical ninjutsu… I repelled not one, but two advances from Iwa's elite shinobi… and end the Second Great Ninja War by killing Hanzo and allowing Konoha to make Ame a stronghold… only to die… again… at the hands of some…_ " Tsunade's dark eyes drifted up to look the large brute in the eyes. Tsunade sneered at the man before sucking in some saliva to spit in his face.

"…scum."

The man recoiled slight with a growl before wiping the spit out of his face and locking eyes with Tsunade, "You're a grade A bitch." The man suddenly grinned wickedly, "I don't normally do charity work, but I have a feeling I'll be doing the world a favor by slicing open your throat!"

.

Large droplets of blood flew through the air as Tsunade felt the burning sting of the dull blade split open her neck and windpipe.

.

Onyx eyes widened in pain before catching the sight of petrified blue ones.

.

" _No…_ " Tsunade thought with tears in her eyes, " _No… turn away! Close your eyes! Don't look! You're too young to see this! Run! Go! Don't… look…_ " Tsunade eyes drifted close as she felt her body shut down from the lack of blood.

.

The familiar darkness almost felt like an old friend.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

"…-kashi …chiha Senju ...Rin! Quick! She's dying!"


	3. Chapter 3

.

" _Uggg…_ " Tsunade thought to herself as her brain slowly woke up, " _What the hell kind of meds did they put me on?!_ " Tsunade groaned in her head again, " _It feels like a picked a fight with a mountain and_ _ **lost**_ _._ "

Tsunade's eyes snapped open as soon as the thought finished to be greeted with dark hospital ceiling, " _…That wasn't even funny brain…_ " Tsunade tried to groan as she sat up, only for the noise to get stuck in her throat. The memories hit Tsunade like a ton of bricks and her hand flew to her throat. She felt bandages. " _I'm still alive…_ " The blonde quickly checked her body – making sure she all limbs were attached and there was no other damage on her small body.

Tsunade sighed internally when she found nothing else except for a couple band-aids and her arms wrapped heavily with bandages, " _They repaired the broken bones quickly… impressive._ "

Another thought suddenly hit Tsunade, making her jump and look around the room, " _Nawak- I mean, Naruto!_ " Finding no one in the small dark hospital room, Tsunade quickly pushed aside the blankets and swung her legs off the bed.

Her body crumpled to the ground with a thud as her legs collapsed underneath her. Tsunade hissed in pain as tried to use her arms, " _Right… chakra exhaustion… and my arms are still fragile from earlier. I'll have to be more careful._ "

The door side open suddenly – catching Tsunade off guard and looking up at it with a 'caught red handed' look.

Standing in the door way with a small food tray in his hand was a rather tall, silver – almost white – haired man with tired, yet kind dark eyes. His hair was an absolute disaster – sticking up at all ends – and its length was pulled back into a low hanging ponytail. Around his soft dark eyes were several wrinkles, but it didn't make him look old – just tired. He wore a simple dark blue long sleeve turtle neck and matching dark pants.

The man stared down at Tsunade's crumpled form with surprised eyes before blinking once and then smacking a hand over his mouth to stop himself from laughing.

Tsunade's eye twitched dangerously as muffled laughs hit her ears.

The man caught Tsunade's glare and cut off his chuckling to smile kindly at her, "Apologies, Uchiha-san. For a second there, you reminded me of my son. He's always trying to escape the hospital after exhausting his chakra and body." The messy haired man stepped into the room, set the food tray down and lifted Tsunade up and back into the bed – ignoring her muffled protest, "Like you, he usually fails. Either one of his teammates catches him in the act or his 'eternal rival' gets overly excited and sends him straight back with more injuries than he woke up with!" The man finished with a hearty laugh.

Tsunade's dark eyes gave the man a dull look.

The man's eyes softened as he smiled down at Tsunade, "Ah, I apologize again. I got caught in my old man rambles and forgot to introduce myself." The man pulled up a rolling stool and sat down on it next to Tsunade's hospital bed, "My name is Hatake Sakumo and I am the doctor taking care of you right now…"

Tsunade's eyes widened in shock at the man's announcement – barely listening to the rest of his speech, " _No way… Sakumo?! White fang Sakumo?!_ " Tsunade was frozen in shock, " _And a DOCTOR?! The idiot I remember could barely keep himself OUT of the hospital with all his injuries! You think if he knew medical ninjutsu, that he would have spared me some headaches and actually healed himself before being shipped to me on his death bed!_ "

Tsunade's eye twitched again when she realized something else, " _The fucking bastard… he hasn't aged a day! He has to be at least fifty now!_ "

"-iha-san? Uchiha-san? Tsubaki-san?"

Tsunade blinked at the sound of her name and focused on her old comrade's dark eyes.

Sakumo smiled in amusement at Tsunade's confused look, "I take it you didn't hear anything I said?"

Tsunade pursed her lips and crossed her arms in defiance.

"Haha!" The silver haired man laughed, "You remind me of an old friend…" Sakumo shook his head, "I was saying that your injuries are nearly healed and after I treat your throat one more time, you will be able to talk again. You will need to stay at home for a few days and rest. Chakra exhaustion is nothing to laugh off." The man's eyes dropped and he gave Tsunade a sad look, "It was… really fortunate that my son's team was in the area when…" Sakumo stopped for a second before continuing, "Rin is quite the genius in medical ninjutsu – some even call her the next Tsunade…"

Tsunade rolled her eyes but found herself mildly interest in this kunoichi.

"…she was able to heal you and your friend-"

Tsunade quickly cut Sakumo off when he mentioned Naruto. Choked, muffled sounds erupted from her throat as she tried to ask where Naruto was.

Sakumo blinked at Tsunade before nodding in understand, "Ah, yes, your friend, Naruto. He needed some medical attention as well, but he's overall a-ok." Sakumo smiled at Tsunade, "He was asking about you – we could barely heal his cuts and bruises as he demanded that we save you." The silvered haired man chuckled, "That is quite the friend you have there." His eyes softened, "The kind that will stick with you for the rest of your life – I can already tell."

Tsunade let out a sigh of relief.

Sakumo reached over to look at his clipboard, "We didn't have a reason to keep him here after healing his wounds and I couldn't let him stay with you – no matter how much he protested." Sakumo let out a small sigh, "It's hospital policy. You hadn't woken up yet and only family and staff were allowed in your room until you did."

Tsunade nodded. It was a policy she had created to keep over excited teammates out so her staff could work and her patients could heal in peace. At the thought of family, Tsunade winced, " _Shisui's going to be pissed…_ "

Sakumo caught Tsunade's look at let out a big, belly laugh, "I've treated your brother in the past – quite a few times actually." Sakumo shook his head as he continued, "Every time we sedate him he starts rambling on about his cute little sister." The silver haired man chuckled, "I think his most recent ramble was about how soon she's going to be a young lady and then he will be forced to murder his own comrades from trying to steal away his adorable little sister."

Tsunade rolled her eyes and crossed her arms with a small tint of red spreading across her cheeks.

"Well…" Sakumo started with a smile, "I've rambled enough for the both of us, I'm sure. Let's get that neck of yours healed up and then my son and his team will escort you back to your home." Sakumo leaned forward to light press his fingers on Tsunade's throat. Green chakra started to glow and Tsunade relaxed into the warm feeling of medical ninjutsu.

"I'd like to keep you here…" Sakumo started as he worked, "…seeing as you are only six and your brother is out of the village on a mission currently, but…" Sakumo frowned slightly, "Our rooms are filling up due to the recent flu going around and we need the space to treat people and keep the flu from spreading..." Sakumo paused, "I'm really sorry Uchiha-san."

Tsunade nodded as Sakumo's hand left her neck. Tsunade brought a hand up to press lightly against her neck before speaking in a choppy voice, "I understand Hatake-san." Swallowing a couple times, Tsunade began to lightly clear her throat.

"Here." Sakumo said as he held a cup of jello up to Tsunade, "I know it isn't the best, but it will help it to feel better, I promise."

Tsunade's face scrunched up. She hated jello. Too many long nights stuck in the gray walls of the hospital had her chugging the thing more days than not.

Sakumo let out another belly laugh as he stood up, "The next time Jiraiya is in town, I am going to have to introduce the two of you! He's going to die of shock at just how similar you are to her!" Sakumo continued to laugh as he approached the door, "He's going to think she came back just to haunt him for all the peeping his done!"

Tsunade's eyes narrowed, " _That damn perv… I thought I taught him a lesson when I broke every bone in his body for peeping the last time!_ "

Sakumo opened the sliding door and paused to smile at something on the other side of the door. Tsunade leaned forward on the bed to see what he was looking at. In the blink of an eye a blur of yellow dove past a chuckling Sakumo and flew through the air to body slam into an unsuspecting Tsunade.

"Oof!" Tsunade hissed out as something small and blonde clung to her mid-section and squeezed the life out of her.

"You're alive! I thought you died! I- I- you like you died and all I could think was that it was my fault! But you're alive, but you could have died! There was- there was so much- b-blood…!" The small boy rambled as Tsunade stared wide eyed and bewildered at the boy staining her hospital gown in tears and snot.

" _I don't even know this kid and he's acting like he almost lost his a family member!_ " Tsunade thought.

Sakumo smiled lightly at the pair before silently walking out of the room. Turning a corner, he motioned to three teenagers – all of whom looked like they would pass out any second.

Kakashi uncrossed his arms and pushed himself off the wall to face his father. Obito and Rin caught their teammate's movement and woke from the daze to look towards the Hatake elder. Obito was the first to speak, "How is she?"

Sakumo approached the trio with a smile, "She's strong – that cousin of yours. Didn't cry once..." Sakumo's grin faltered at his own comment. She was too young to be so indifferent to her own wellbeing. Shaking his head, he continued with a proud look on his face, "The three of you saved her. Your quick thinking and actions saved her from becoming permanently mute or worse."

Obito grinned scratched his nose with his finger before motioning to Rin, "It was all Rin! She was amazing!" Obito's face lit up in pride as Rin went red and kicked her feet shyly, "She didn't even hesitate!"

Rin smiled shyly at Obito, "All I did was use medical ninjutsu. You and Kakashi were the ones that knew something was wrong and ran to investigate."

Sakumo turned to his son, "Good job son." Sakumo smiled at Obito, "You too Obito. All three of you have turned into great shinobi."

Kakashi shrugged with a light smile on his face.

Obito grinned, "Can we go in now?"

Sakumo nodded with a chuckle, "Yep! A certain blonde haired boy already beat you inside."

Obito blinked, "The other kid?" Obito turned to Rin, "What was his name, Naruko? Naruto?"

Rin giggled, "Naruto."

Obito nodded with a smile, "Let's go say hi then!" Obito grabbed Rin's hand and dragged the blushing girl towards the room in question.

Kakashi smiled lightly at his teammates before turning back to his father and schooling his features, "Is Naruto...?"

Sakumo sighed at his son, "Nothing gets past you, huh?"

Kakashi stared off in the direction of the room, "I was… shocked when I saw him lying there. He looks just like sensei…" Kakashi paused before continuing with a rough tone, "Why weren't we told?"

Sakumo sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead – suddenly feeling like he aged ten years, "I can't claim to understand everything told to me." Sakumo frowned, "But my own experiences have taught me that I need to respect the decision made by those at a higher office than me."

Kakashi's dark eyes narrowed, "Seems like a convenient excuse to remain responsibility free." The young Hatake scrunched his nose up in disgust before shoving his hands in his pockets and moving around his father.

Sakumo frowned sadly at his son but did not stop him or correct him.

 _Coward_ – was the unspoken word between them and it wasn't the first time that Kakashi had implied such.

" _I'm sorry Kakashi._ " Sakumo spoke in his mind as he stared sadly at his son's back, " _I wish I could have been a better father for you…_ "

.

.

* * *

.

.

"-so I tried this new ramen in the cup and it was pretty good! It had too many icky green things though, so next time, before I put water in, I'm going to scrape them out and-"

Tsunade tuned Naruto out as he chatted excitedly with Obito over different flavors of ramen and where the best ramen stands in the village were. The dark eyed blonde looked over the group as all five of them walked through the darkened village streets and towards the Uchiha compound. The three shinobi volunteered to take Tsunade home, since it was so late at night and Tsunade had just been discharged. Obito added that he was an Uchiha too and was traveling that way anyways – not the Tsunade didn't already know who he was. He had a reputation for being late, going out of his way to help the elderly, constantly playing with or watching over the clan kids, and her personal favorite – upsetting the clan elders with his over the top speeches of friendship and peace.

It made Tsunade's day every time she caught a clan elder breaking character and kicking over some random shogi board after being force to endure Obito's speech on puppy dogs and rainbows.

The brunette kunoichi had Tsunade interested in her abilities as a medic ninja, but knew better than to bring it up around strangers. Maybe Tsunade could ask the girl to 'teach' her and learn what new practices have been put in place since Tsunade died.

The silvered haired shinobi was another mystery to Tsunade. Clearly, he was Sakumo's brat. That untamable silver hair is practically legendary, not to mention Sakumo mentioning the brat several times in their conversation. He was the quiet one out of the three of them and while his mask hiding the bottom half of his face, Tsunade thought his eyes said more than enough for Tsunade to understand what he thought of listening to Obito and Naruto talk about ramen for the past fifteen minutes.

Tsunade smirked. She was also thinking pushing the duo into the small creek they were walking next to.

Tsunade's eyes landed on the blond. Her onyx eyes softened. After Tsunade finally ripped Naruto off of her – trying not to look at the snot mess he left on her front – she quickly quizzed him on why he was there and not home with his family – who was probably worried about where he was.

Her earlier thoughts were quickly confirmed when Naruto's blue eyes dulled and looked away. Tsunade was certain she had never fully developed her maternal instincts – having cut down too many children in the war to ever think about having her own – but she was a big sister for several years and in that moment, all she wanted to do was hug the poor boy and kiss his forehead – telling him everything was going to be ok.

So she did the next best thing…

Declared that he was coming home with her.

The three chunin – or low level jounin, Tsunade couldn't really tell – just stared at her like she sprouted another head. She scoffed at them as started pulling Naruto out of the room and towards the exit of the hospital. Rin was the first to act – stuttering out that Tsunade couldn't go out in public with nothing but a hospital gown and quickly found clothes for the young girl.

Naruto just seemed confused by all of it before complaining that he had ramen at home that he was hungry to eat. This is turn spurred a whole conversation about ramen between him and Tsunade's cousin.

And nearly twenty minutes later, they were approaching the gates of the Uchiha compound.

Kakashi looked up at the gate as he stopped, "I'll walk you home from here Rin."

Rin nodded before bending to wave at Naruto and Tsunade with a smile, "It was nice meeting you Naruto-kun, Tsubaki-chan! I hope we get to see each other again!"

Naruto looked up at the smiling brunette and grinned shyly with a tint of pink on his face, "Yeah! Believe it!"

Obito narrowed his eyes on Kakashi – who in turn waved him off. "I'm not going to whoo your girlfriend Obito while your gone, so stop giving me that look."

Obito turned red in embarrassment – along with Rin – before stuttering out, "Pfff! I-I don't know what you're talking about Bakashi!" Obito crossed his arms and looked to the side and mumbled, "But you better keep your wandering, pervert hands away from my Rin-chan!"

Kakashi grinned through his mask and chuckled lowly as Tsunade smirked before speaking to Obito, " **Your** Rin-chan? Being a bit presumptuous, are we?"

The red of Obito's face deepened before he pointed aggressively at his cousin, "Y-y-you! Respect your elders!"

Tsunade's wicked grin widened as she raised an eyebrow, "Like you do?"

"She's got you there, Obito-san." A calm voice cut in. Everyone turned towards the open clan gates to see Itachi standing in the center with his arms loose at his sides. His sharp eyes quickly focused on Tsunade – who was fidgeting and looking around to avoid meeting Itachi's hard gaze.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked with a curious tone.

Itachi blinked at the blond boy before giving him a polite bow, "I am Uchiha Itachi – first born to Uchiha Fugaku. May I ask what your name is?"

Naruto grinned widely and rubbed his nose, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I'm going to be the Hokage one day! Believe it!"

Itachi blinked in surprise before smiling kindly at the boy.

"Can't you say anything else? Or are you a wind up doll with only one setting?" Tsunade mumbled out at the overly excited blond.

Naruto crossed his arms and pouted at Tsunade.

Itachi turned to the Tsunade before looking up at Obito, "I can take Tsubaki home from here. I was told your grandmother was concerned by your absence. Apparently you are later than your normal…" Itachi drifted off, not wanting to insinuate anything and offend the older boy.

Obito chuckled as he scratched the back of his head, "It's ok, everyone knows I would be late to my own funeral!" Obito walked up and ruffled Itachi's hair – making the latter's eye twitch dangerously. Obito seemed oblivious to the younger's boy irritation and turned around to wave to his friends, "See you tomorrow Rin-chan! Bakashi!"

Rin grinned and waved back before turning around with Kakashi – who simply lazily held his hand up.

Itachi turned back to Tsunade as Obito walked pass him and into the compound. The Uchiha heir looked between the two blondes and frowned in confusion. Itachi's eyes landed on Naruto's wondering grin as he spoke to Tsunade, "…do you have something to declare Tsubaki?"

Tsunade roughly grabbed Naruto by his sleeve and pulled him with her as she walked through the clan gates, "He's Shisui's early birthday present."

Itachi opened his mouth and then closed it, and then opened it again before slowly responding, "How so?" Itachi followed behind Tsunade and Naruto, curious of her response.

Tsunade shrugged, "He's blond, cute, and craves the attention of an older brother to feed and take care of him."

Itachi stared at Tsunade with a baffled look before quickly smacking a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter.

Naruto dug his heels into the ground, "Hey! I'm not some charity case!"

Tsunade's eyes grew wide slightly as she floundered backwards at Naruto's tug from her grip, " _Damn brat's strong!_ " Tsunade grumbled to herself, " _Stupid chakra exhaustion, otherwise I'd just drag him…_ "

Naruto's blue eyes hardened, "I'm not an idiot. I know what people think of me and I know you feel sorry for me, but…" Naruto's fist tightened as his eyes burned, "I don't need your pity! I've been doing just fine by myself!" Naruto took a step forward, "I'm not weak, or a child, or some kind of doll! I would have been fine – I didn't need your help from those thugs! I would have taken every punch and kick and been JUST FINE!"

Naruto spun around with his fists shaking at his sides and mumbled, "It's not like it was the first time anyways."

*SMACK*

Naruto snapped around to see where the loud sound came from. Blue eyes widened.

Teeth bared and eyes thinned in pure anger, Tsunade stood growling next to a wood building with closed fist smashed against it. The wood side of the building was caved in where her fist hovered and large cracks in the wood branched out from the hole. Tsunade began panting as her chakra flickered desperately to keep her body upright.

Tsunade didn't notice her body's struggle as she was blinded by rage, "There is **no way** I am letting you go back to live with those…" Tsunade bit her lip to keep herself from singing a string of cuss words, "You can think its pity or misguided loyalty or stupidity or whatever suits your fancy, but…" Tsunade marched up to Naruto and pulled him forward be the collar of his shirt, "The moment I saw you – before the fearful looks, before the poisonous words, before the scum that nearly killed the both of us – I knew, I just knew…!"

Tsunade sucked in a long breath as she felt her eyes water up and her throat dry. Her voice started to falter, "I can't explain it, but you're my family Naruto! I don't know why or how or if we even share a spec of blood, but we are! And…" Tsunade felt the sting of tears fall from her eyes, "I keep losing family, no matter what I do or how much I try, every single one of them leaves me and I can't…!"

Onyx eyes met shock blue ones, "Don't leave me too Naruto…"

Naruto stared at the crying girl in front of him with wide eyes before dropping his gaze and grinding his teeth, "You're lying… you don't want me. You just want to make fun of me… just like everyone else."

Tsunade's eyes snapped up with fury, "You think I would break both my arms, get my throat sliced open, and then – and probably the worst of all three – **cry my eyes out in public** as one large elaborate plot to trick you so I can make fun of you?! Huh?!"

Naruto pursed his lips and look to the side to mumble, "…girls are crazy and have cooties…"

Tsunade's eye twitched.

And twitched.

 **And.**

 **Twitched.**

.

Tsunade leaned her head back and smack her forehead into Naruto's – **hard**.

"Ahh!" The small boy cried as he fell to the ground and brought his hands to his head in pain, "Whacha do that for?!"

Tsunade place her hands on her hips as she yelled, "To get it through your thick skull!"

Naruto squinted up suspiciously at Tsunade and paused before speaking, "So you're not going to play pranks on me?"

Tsunade crossed her arms, "Not unless you start a prank war first."

The idea seemed to spark something in Naruto's eyes before he quickly schooled his features again, "And we're going to be a family?"

Tsunade nodded, "You, me and Shisui."

Naruto frowned and started poking the ground, "What if… 'Shisui' doesn't like me?"

Tsunade scoffed, "Shisui is going to spoil the shit-" Tsunade chastised herself for cussing in front of a six year old, "He's going to spoil you like crazy. I **guarantee** it."

Naruto blinked up at Tsunade and gave her a confused look, "Don't… you have parents?"

Tsunade nodded, "I did. My mother died giving birth to me and my father isn't around much." Tsunade shrugged, "Don't worry about my father though. Shisui runs the house."

Naruto paused – as if he was thinking everything over in his head – before grinning widely and leaping towards Tsunade.

"Oof!" Tsunade squeaked out as Naruto began crushing her lungs for the second time that night.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Naruto began yelling over and over.

"KNOCK IT OFF WITH THE theatrics out there and go to sleep! SOME OF US HAVE THINGS TO DO IN THE MORNING!" Shouted a neighbor, who was leaning out a window before going back inside with a loud slam.

Naruto and Tsunade looked up at where the neighbor was screaming from to each other. Both of them broke out in loud, straight from the belly, laughter.

Naruto wiped a tear from laughing too hard from his eye before grinning wickedly, "I have a feeling I'm going to have a lot of fun here."

Tsunade grinned evilly back before patting Naruto on the back and guiding him towards their new home, "Remind me to introduce you to a certain brother obsessed duckling tomorrow. He makes this hilarious scrunched up face every time I…"

.

Itachi shook his head as he watched the two pairs of blondes walk away, side by side, as they begin to plot the downfall of his poor, innocent brother's sanity – and likely all the Uchihas' along with him.

Itachi looked up to the cream colored moon as it glowed over the compound, " _Should I warn Sasuke?_ " Itachi shook his head again as he slowly made his way back to his house, " _Nah, it will be good training for him._ "

.

.

.

.

.

.

* * *

.

.

A light knock echoed in Hiruzen's ears, followed by a series of different taps.

Hiruzen sighed tiredly as he set his pen down on his desk and proceeded to move the papers he was working on to the side. After straightening his desk some, he spoke with a deep gruff, "Enter."

The doors to the Hokage's office opened to reveal a tall man with midnight black, curly hair that was tied back into a low ponytail. He was on the muscular side, which hid his age, but the wrinkles around his deep black eyes gave his elderly age away.

Hiruzen signaled his ANBU team to leave the room as the door closed before nodding to the armor clad man, "Kagami." Hiruzen smiled tiredly and motion to a chair, "Please sit down old friend."

Kagami shook his head with a sober look, "I'm afraid I cannot, old friend."

Hiruzen sighed tiredly again as he brought a hand up to rub his forehead, "Nothing is ever easy around here, is it."

Kagami did not respond to Hiruzen's statement and quickly spoke of why he was there, "Earlier this afternoon Uzumaki Naruto's security was compromised."

Thick, dark killing intent swept through the room in an instant – frightening the shinobi in the Hokage's Tower and forcing the ANBU to barge back into the room. Hiruzen bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from sneering at his ninja when his bad mood was not their fault. Lifting a hand up, he waved them out, "Please do not barge in here again until Uchiha Kagami has left."

The ANBU guard paused but nodded and left again – closing the door on their way out.

Hiruzen turned his gaze back on Kagami, "What happened?"

Kagami pulled two pictures from his pockets and laid them on the Hokage's desk, "These are the two ANBU Black Ops I assigned to watch the Fourth's legacy."

Hiruzen didn't even flinch as he looked over the pictures of the two mangled bodies, "Who are they?" Hiruzen asked plainly, as the bodies were too disfigured for him to make out.

"Hiroshi Yusuke and Hyuuga Shiro." Kagami responded.

Hiruzen closed his eyes with a deep inhale before speaking, "Have you informed the Hyuuga yet?"

Kagami nodded, "Hizashi should be informing the main clan as we speak."

Hiruzen groaned, "So they will be on my door step next demanding that I release Hizashi from the ANBU."

Kagami nodded, "They were always going to use whatever loophole at their disposal to place the seal back on him and Shiro."

The Third Hokage scoffed, "Well they'll just have to wait in line because I have better things to waste my time on then debate with Konoha's most stubborn clan."

Kagami smirked, "Some say that title belongs to the Uchiha."

"Ha!" Hiruzen barked out, "Clearly, those people have never been in a room with a Hyuuga for five hours exchanging no words except for the weather forecast for the entire year!"

The Uchiha grinned wickedly at his old teammate, "I don't remember drinking so much tea in one sitting in my life." Kagami started crackling, "I about nearly died – I had to go to the bathroom so bad!"

Hiruzen shook his head at his friend's silliness before leaning back and locking eyes with the Uchiha, "When did you find them?"

Kagami sobered up, "After word hit my office that Uzumaki Naruto and an Uchiha girl were submitted to the ER in critical condition, I sent all non-essential personnel out to figure out how we had messed up so badly." Kagami motioned to the pictures, "Aburame Torune was the one that found them."

Hiruzen lifted an eyebrow, "Your newest recruit?"

Kagami nodded, "He's quite the prodigy."

Hiruzen nodded, "And Naruto?"

"Broken bones, some minor cuts, but nothing the seal on his stomach didn't patch up." Kagami reported.

Hiruzen paused to give Kagami a narrowed look, "What are you not telling me?"

Kagami let out a deep exhale before speaking, "The Uchiha that was admitted with a sliced open jugular and two broken arms was Uchiha Tsubaki."

Hiruzen stared blankly up at Kagami before letting out a long sigh, "I'm sorry Kagami. That must have been hard on you."

"I wasn't…" Kagami started before schooling his features and projecting a cold exterior, "I was not ready to receive the information after being informed of Yusuke's and Shiro's murder." Kagami paused before continuing with a sideways look, "I will owe Nara Shikaku a large debt for quite some time."

Hiruzen brought a hand up to rub his face again and groaned, "I don't want to know… I'll trust Shikaku took care of whatever disaster you created." Hiruzen looked up at his old friend with an annoyed look, "Between you, Jiraiya, Danzo, Orochimaru and the rest of this village, I'm going to die with a pen in my hand and tears of the promise of sleep in my eyes…"

Kagami smirked, "Perhaps it is time for you to choose your successor."

Hiruzen waved him off, "I will when you do. You've been running the ANBU Black Ops for as long as I've been Hokage – even through Minato's time."

Kagami nodded, "I already have one lined up."

Hiruzen sat up in shock, "…you're lying."

Kagami smirked, "I am not." The Uchiha sighed heavily, "These last few hours especially have made me bitter for the years I have missed with my family." Kagami's dark eyes dropped, "I wasn't there for my son when he lost himself in his wife's death. Hell… I wasn't even there when he got married to her." The elder Uchiha shook his head, "I don't want to be an absentee parent – or rather grandparent – anymore."

Hiruzen sighed heavily and folded his hands over his desk, "I…" Hiruzen sighed again, "I understand. I felt the same when I turned the title of Hokage over to Minato, but… look how that turned out."

Kagami shook his head, "Don't look at Minato's heroic achievements as failures. That only disrespects him." The Uchiha looked up that the portrait of the blonde Hokage, "He gave his life for his village and his family against an impossible foe. He was noble, selfless, a genius, and most of all – a loving father and husband." Kagami turned to look at Hiruzen, "It's more than I can say about two old geezers like us."

Hiruzen looked up at Minato's Hokage portrait and sighed, "…you are right." The Third Hokage turned back to Kagami, "But who could fill the role? Certainly not Danzo." Hiruzen stated with a frown, "None of us are fit to wear the hat. We have to trust the next generation, just as Hashirama-sama and Tobirama-sensei trusted us."

Kagami nodded, "Jiraiya has been lost since Tsunade's passing and Orochimaru is an S-ranked traitor."

Hiruzen nodded, "There is only one shinobi I can think of that has the experience, the strength, the reputation and the will to fill this role with the passion that Hashirama-sama would expect from his succeeding Hokages."

"But good luck trying to convince him." Kagami finished for his friend before sighing and shrugging his shoulders, "I understand – trust me I do. You're stuck between a rock and a hard place." Kagami looked down at his longtime friend, "I hope, for your sake at the very least, that a solution appears sooner rather than later."

Hiruzen nodded, "There are several great shinobi in the making right now. All I need to do is ride this wave of peace for the next six to ten years and one of them will be ready to take on this kami-forsaken role."

Kagami smirked at his old teammate before letting his grin drop, "I have provided you all the information I have at this time. Once I know more about what kind of attack we are looking at, you will be my first stop."

The Third Hokage nodded before motioning to Kagami that he was free to go.

The elderly Uchiha began making his way towards the door and had just grabbed the handle when Hiruzen called out, "Wait… you didn't say who your successor was going to be."

Kagami tilted his head back and smirked, "Oh I didn't?" Kagami chuckled, "I'm pretty sure I did…"

Hiruzen groaned internally as he realized he would going another night without any sleep, "…lost my ass…" Hiruzen grabbed a piece of paper and started scribbling on it violently, "You know what Kagami, I hope you have a **great** time playing the **old man** to your **overly active** and **wonder balls of joys** that are your grandchildren." Hiruzen slammed the paper into the finish pile with a loud thud sound before grabbing another, " **I hope you break your pre-historic back!** "

Kagami laughed loudly at his friend's pain as he walked out of the office and down the hall with a carefree hop in his step.

.

.

.


	4. Chapter 4

.

Naruto kicked his feet excitedly as he sat at the breakfast table. Leaning over with a large grin on his face, Naruto called out, "Come on Shisui-nii! We're going to be late!"

Tsunade plopped down in the chair across from Naruto with a yawn before grumbling, "Quiet you. It's far too early in the morning." Tsunade crossed her arms with a pout, "I can't believe I'm being forced into this…"

Shisui blinked at his little sister as he walked over with breakfast for the three of them, "Don't you want to be a ninja Tsu-chan?"

"Tch!" Tsunade clicked her teeth, "Of course I do." Tsunade rested her chin on her hand and looked away, annoyed, " _I just don't want to go to the academy to do it._ "

Naruto narrowed his eyes on the breakfast laid down in front of him. _Vegetables_ – the bane of Naruto's existence. Shisui laughed at Naruto's expression before speaking, "You have to eat all of it Naruto or you'll miss your first day at the academy!"

Naruto blinked up at Shisui and paled before quickly picking up his chopsticks and inhaling his food. Tsunade made a face at Naruto's sloppy eating.

"You're not the picture of elegance when you eat either, Tsu-chan." Shisui said with a grin as he sat down to eat as well.

Tsunade huffed and crossed her arms, "What happened to being the cutest thing you've ever seen?"

Shisui's grin widened as he shrugged, "Eh, I've got Naruto-kun now."

Tsunade's jaw dropped as she smacked a hand over her chest – clearly wounded by that shot to the heart.

Naruto paused from his food to grin at the Uchiha duo and laugh, "Hahaha! Good one Shisui-nii!"

Shisui grinned widely at the two before leaning over to flick Tsunade on the nose, "I'm just teasing! You know you're still my cute little Tsu-chan."

Tsunade rubbed her sore nose and mumbled underneath her breath, "…gonna pay for that one." Tsunade turned her onyx gaze onto the blond in front of her. Her eye twitched, "Is that really what you're going to wear?" Tsunade groaned internally, " _The kid's going to stick out like a sore thumb… so embarrassing…_ "

Naruto looked down at his orange jumpsuit and blinked, "Yeah?"

Tsunade snapped her harden gaze to Shisui, "You should be castrated for buying such a ridiculous outfit for him."

Shisui choked on his food at his little sister's harsh words, "Tsubaki!" Shisui coughed up some rice before regaining his voice, "And there's nothing wrong with it! Naruto likes it! Right Naruto?"

Naruto grinned and gave Shisui a thumbs-up, "It's awesome! And no one can ignore a person with such an awesome sense of style! Right Shisui-nii?!" Naruto crossed his arms and smirked, "I'll be even more popular than duckbutt!"

Tsunade groaned and banged her head on the table.

Naruto crossed his arms, "It's better than your dress! Can't you wear something…" Naruto rubbed his chin as he tried to come up with the right word, "I don't know… something less girly?"

Tsunade head snapped up, "I **am** a girl!" Tsunade hissed, "And it's not a dress!" The blonde girl motioned to her outfit, which was a long, three quarter sleeve dark blue shirt with light pink flower petals on it. Around her waist was a thick, cream colored sash with matching cream colored shorts.

Naruto blinked and looked to Shisui, "Do you think Tsubaka's a girl?"

Shisui quickly shoved a large mouthful of food to stop him from laughing outright.

Tsunade's eyes burned holes into Naruto, "It's Tsu **BAKI** and **OF COURSE I'M A GIRL!** " Tsunade quickly hopped off her chair and raced around the table while muttering, "But I'm gonna make you a girl here in a second…"

"Ahh!" Naruto screamed as he flew from his chair and fled away from Tsunade, "Shisui-nii! Protect me!"

Shisui couldn't hold it in anymore and laughed loudly at his two siblings and they chased each other around the table. After Naruto tripped over the leg of one of the chairs and Tsunade pinned him to the ground, Shisui decided it was time to take them to the academy, "Alright you two. It's time to get going."

Tsunade turned her head slightly to give her elder brother an irritated look – she hadn't even taught Naruto a lesson yet.

Shisui picked up the dishes without looking at the pair of blonds as he spoke, "Don't give me that look Tsubaki. You can teach Naruto a lesson later – when you guys are sparring at the academy."

Tsunade paused on the thought and then grinned wickedly before speaking low to Naruto, "You better hope we don't get paired off to spar then…"

Naruto paled at the promise of death. He knew **exactly** how hard Tsunade hit and wasn't looking to repeat the experience.

Tsunade got off of Naruto and slowly made her way towards the shoe rack. After getting her shoes on, Tsunade made her way over to the mirror by the door. While patting back some of the loose hair that popped up when she tackled Naruto to the ground, Tsunade took a long look at her features. Overall, Tsunade didn't think she looked all that much different from her first body. She had a nice, heart shaped face, light olive skin, faint blond hair that framed her face… the only difference she could see was that her eyes were a bit sharper – more cat like, but still plenty round – and they were a deep onyx color. Tsunade paused to bring a finger over her cheek and poked it, " _Definitely haven't lost my baby fat yet…_ "

Naruto snickered at Tsunade, "Making sure you look perfect for duckbutt?"

Tsunade glared at the blond before turning back to the mirror to make sure her clothes were fine after their scuffle, "Do you know what quiet is or do you choose to be so annoying?"

Naruto crossed his arms with a grin, "Obviously, it's the latter."

Tsunade's head snapped around so fast, she was sure she just pulled something. Her eyes narrowed on Naruto's oblivious form as he stared at two shoes and debated which pair he wanted to wear. They were the same shoes – in size, color, style… everything.

Tsunade hummed in suspicious, "…I don't like it when you act like me. It makes me… twitchy."

Naruto looked up at Tsunade with a confused look before shrugging and going back to his struggle on which pair of identical shoes he wanted to wear. Sighing Tsunade turned back to call out to her older brother, "Come on Shisui! We're going to be late!"

Shisui flickered in front of them in an instant with a grin on his face, "I thought you didn't want to go Tsu-chan?"

Tsunade crossed her arms, "If I have to endure five hours of boredom followed by two hours of beating up little kids, then I might as well not be late while doing it." Tsunade huffed before mumbling, "Goodness knows we don't need everyone thinking that all Uchiha are as incapable as managing time as Obito."

.

.

.

* * *

.

Tsunade stared up at the tall academy building.

" _ **Grandfather? How come I'm not going to the academy with all the other kids?" Tsunade stared up at the tall academy building. Surrounding the tall auburn tower were groups of children with their parents standing by them. Most were smiling and laughing with one and another. Only a few, like the Hyuuga and Aburame clans, kept their expressions neutral, but Tsunade could see the joy and excitement their eyes.**_

 _ **Knowledge. Friends. Strength. All were looking for something different and all would leave with something even more different.**_

 _ **The Will of Fire.**_

 _ **Hashirama looked down at his granddaughter and smiled sadly at her. With a low sigh, he crouched down to Tsunade's level and spoke in a soft tone, "Well…" Hashirama paused before frowning, "I'm not really sure…"**_

" _ **You are the granddaughter of the First Hokage and as such, heir to the Senju clan." Tobirama spoke – appearing from thin air behind the two of them, "As such, your time will be spent learning fuinjutsu from your grandmother, ninjutsu from myself and taijutsu from your father." Tobirama turned his sharp gaze to the academy, "You will join your fellow classmates when they graduate the academy and genin teams are formed. This is how your father was raised and it is how you shall be as well."**_

 _ **Hashirama pursed his lips and pouted, "Who's the grandfather here?" The long dark haired Senju crossed his arms and grumbled, "I think Tsu-chan should get to go play with her friends…"**_

 _ **Tobirama raised an unamused eyebrow at his brother, "The academy is not a playground. It is an education facility designed to strengthen our future generations' minds and spirits. Tsunade is already strong in both regards and the academy will only slow her down."**_

 _ **Hashirama frowned at his brother, "At the cost of her happiness?" Hashirama looked down at Tsunade – who was staring up at him with hopeful brown eyes. Hashirama turned back to his brother and spoke with a little more authority, "Tsunade wants to go and I don't see any reason she should be prevented. This is the reason Madara and I…**_ **"** _ **Hashirama stopped suddenly – just thinking of his deceased friend always tripped Hashirama up.**_

 _ **Not willing to wait for his brother to recover, Tobirama turned his back and spoke with a deep tone, "You and Madara believed in a time of peace. We are not there yet and until that day, someone must bear the burden – and it cannot be you and I forever. Someone else will have to take our place." Tobirama turned his head to lock eyes with Hashirama, "Would you instead place that burden on one of them?"**_

 _ **Hashirama's eyes turned to the large group of children dancing around their parents and friends.**_

 _ **Tsunade felt the large tanned hand wrapped around hers tighten.**_

" _ **Come on Tsu-chan!" Her grandfather spoke with a forced cheer, "If we're quick, we can grab some dango on our way to your grandmother's!"**_

Tsunade sighed as her gaze shifted up to where the stone faces of the Hokage were carved in the mountainside.

"Come on Tsubaki! We're going to be late!" Naruto called out loudly as he stood in front of her with his arms crossed and an irritated look on his face.

Tsunade blinked before shrugging, "Yeah, yeah." Tsunade walked past Naruto and towards the academy before tilting her head back with a smirk on her face, "You could have gone in without me, you know… or are you scared?"

Naruto's jaw dropped in horror at the mere suggestion that he – Future-Hokage-Uzumaki-Naruto – was _scared_. The blond quickly sprinted forward to yell at Tsunade, "I'm not scared Tsubaka-!"

Tsunade stuck her foot out and tripped Naruto – making the small boy fly through the air and smack head first into the back of another child.

Tsunade grinned wickedly as she walked past Naruto and laughed, "Have a nice trip? Hahahaha! Get it?! Nice **trip**?!" Tsunade laughed at her own joke, "I'm hilarious!"

A familiar growl reached her ears and Tsunade looked to see who she rammed Naruto into. Her grin widened at the sight of black spikey tips molded into the shape of a duck's tail. Uchiha Sasuke.

Tsunade howled in laughter – holding her stomach in pain as small tears ran down her eyes, "Two for one! Best. Day. Ever!" Tsunade continued laughing as she stepped over the two boys and walked into the academy.

Shisui came up from behind to stand next to Itachi with a sigh, "Sorry 'tachi…"

Itachi raised an eyebrow as the two younger boys quickly shove each other away with a hiss before racing after the blonde haired witch – his brother's words, not his. Itachi shook his head with an amused smirk, "It'll be interesting to see how they all grow."

Shisui placed his hands on his hips and shook his head at the younger Uchiha, "You sure do know how to make a guy feel a hundred years old…"

Itachi raised an eyebrow and looked up at Shisui in confusion.

Shisui waved him off, "Nevermind…"

.

.

.

* * *

.

Tsunade looked down at the paper in her hand before looking back up at the classroom door. Confirming that the room was the correct one, the blond Uchiha walked through into the small classroom.

There were only a few kids inside – most of them still chatting in the hallway or outside most likely. Tsunade ignored the other children – most of them she'd probably never see again, so who cared – as she made her way to front of the room, where the teacher would likely stand. Once she was in position, she twisted her head around to find a stool or chair. Her eyes lit up when she found what she was looking for and quickly brought it over.

Climbing up on the chair, Tsunade stood facing the area where the students would be sitting. After a moment of slowly moving her eyes through the room, Tsunade smirked in victory. Swiftly, she hopped off the chair and returned it to where she found it and made her way to a student rows.

Third row from the front, one row from back and on the left side of the room… closest to the hallway doors… far left seat. That's where Tsunade stacked her claim. The blond smirked to herself as she folded her arms and leaned back in her chair, " _Now to work on my 'sleeping with my eyes open' look…_ "

Tsunade's thoughts were cut off when someone roughly sat down next to her. Irritated onyx eyes shifted to her right and narrowed, "Shoo." Tsunade made a 'shoo' motion with her hands, "Go. Be gone. Find a new home kid."

The slouched over brunette simply yawned and laid his head down on the desk.

Tsunade's eye twitched dangerously.

Before Tsunade could chew the sleeping boy for ignoring her, a large wave of children started flowing through the door. Tsunade huffed in annoyance before leaning on her hand to watch the kids find seats. Familiar blond spikes appeared and Tsunade watched Naruto slowly look around the room. Blue eyes locked with bored onyx ones and Naruto quickly scowled before stomping over to a seat across the room from Tsunade.

Tsunade chuckled under her breath.

"Everyone, please take your seats." A male voice spoke out. Tsunade's eyes moved to look at the adult male walking through the door. He wasn't very old – eighteen maybe, she guessed – and he looked so much like the brat next to her, she was sure they were related.

Or maybe it was just the hair…

Tsunade shrugged the thought off as the man spoke to the room about learning about the ninja way or class room rules. Either way, Tsunade quickly zoned out, " _This would be a good time to focus on my seal…_ " Tsunade let her gaze fall to a spot on her desk as she focus her chakra internally – moving it around until she was funneling it into the center of her forehead.

"…Uchiha Tsubaki..." The man spoke out before frowning, "Is there a Uchiha Tsubaki here?"

Tsunade's gaze snapped up, "Yes." Tsunade stood up and bowed politely, "Sorry…"

The man paused on her for a moment before nodding, "Uzumaki Naruto…" The young man's voice started to wane as he spoke Naruto's name – immediately catching Tsunade's attention.

"Here!" Naruto shouted with a large grin on his face and his blue eyes lit up, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I'm going to be the next Hokage!"

Silence hung in the air before kids started protesting.

"Not uh! I'm going to be the next Hokage!" One dark haired brat called out.

"It ain't gonna be either of you 'cause I'm gonna be Hokage!" A fanged boy shouted as he jumped on his desk.

"But I wanna be Hokage…" A purple haired girl whined from the front of the room.

A couple more whines and arguments broke out before the teacher became irritated at being ignored and yelled at them, "QUIET! ALL OF YOU!"

The room went deathly quiet.

"Ehem." The teacher cleared his throat, "Back to roll call…" The brunette looked over his list a couple times before smiling at the class, "Looks like everyone is here. Great!" The man grabbed a stack of papers and started handing one out to everyone, "We're going to start with a written assessment test…"

Tsunade groaned internally, " _This is going to be a looooong four years…_ "

.

.

.

* * *

.

"This cannot stand any longer!" Danzo roared as he slammed the foot of his cane into the ground, "The Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki should be removed from the Uchiha immediately!"

Hiruzen closed his eyes in irritation – a migraine was forming, he just knew it – before slowly opening his eyes to stare unimpressed at his former teammate, "For what reasons Danzo?" Hiruzen picked up a paper from his desk and starting writing on it, "Naruto has flourished under the care of the Uchiha. The complaints of Naruto's acts of vandalism have gone down significantly… Sakumo tells me that his health has significantly improved with a proper diet… and even the Uchiha seem to have been calmed by this arrangement." The Third Hokage pushed the paper aside and grabbed another one.

Danzo's eye hardened as he sneered, "Because you have handed them a weapon that even we cannot defend ourselves against!" The one eye elder scoffed, "The Uchiha respond to nothing but shows of power! You cannot possibly believe they tolerate the boy for his _charming demeanor_. Those savages will not even recognize one of their own as family. You really believe they would welcome in a child that looks just like her?"

"Enough Danzo!" Hiruzen commanded as he set down his pen and looked Danzo in the eye, "All Naruto has ever truly wanted was a family and now that he's found himself one that loves him..." The Hokage's eyes thinned, "I will not get in the way of that…" The air thickened, "…and neither will you Danzo. Are we clear?"

Danzo let out an angry gruff and stormed out of the Hokage's office.

Hiruzen let out a long, heavy sigh as he brought his hand to his head to rub it.

"Is Danzo going to be a problem?" A voice spoke from the shadow of the room.

Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, but shifted his gaze to the shadow as they stepped out into the light. "I honestly don't know Kagami." Hiruzen folded his hands on his lap and looked up at the Uchiha, "Danzo has become… erratic over the years. I know his heart still belongs to Konoha, but I worry…"

"That he cannot see the forest for the trees." Kagami finished as his onyx eyes shifted to the door that Danzo exited through, "We all grew up in an… awkward time. We were children when the Leaf was formed – when peace became a possibility – but warriors when that peace came crumbling down and wars began again." Kagami closed his eyes in understanding, "It has made him paranoid and brutal, and now, he cannot see how his attempts to keep the village safe only keep it bleeding."

Hiruzen nodded, "We will have to watch Danzo more closely."

Kagami nodded in return, "I will have a report for you by the end of the week."

The Hokage let out a sigh of relief before tapping his fingers on his desk. Kagami waited – knowing Hiruzen had more to say. After a moment of silence, Hiruzen spoke, "When are you retiring exactly?"

Kagami let out a sigh, "Jiraiya has been brought up to speed and trained extensively to the responsibilities of this role, but he is currently traveling with his students from Ame. If it was in my ability to pull him from his current assignment, then I would, but this will be his last act as Konoha's best covert ops agent." Kagami frowned, "It would be cruel of me to forbid him from finishing a mission seven years in the making."

The Third Hokage sighed before answering gruffly, "I understand."

"Have you spoken to Fugaku?" Kagami asked, "He is an incredibly strong shinobi Hiruzen. He is also level headed and understands the delicacies of hard decisions. With his strength and reputation, I am confident that he would make a fine Hokage to succeed you."

Hiruzen shook his head, "Forgive me Kagami, but until he has fixed the issues within his clan, I cannot recommend him to this position." Hiruzen's eyes locked with Kagami's, "You and I both know this is not a position of power, but one of ruin. If he is not strong enough to come ahead of his clan's current divide, then he will not survive in this position against fierce foes and allies like the Tsuchikage and Danzo."

Kagami sighed, "I understand." The Uchiha crossed his arms and stared dully out the window behind his former teammate, "No decision is ever an easy one, is it?"

Hiruzen took a puff of his pipe and let out a smoky breath.

" _No. No it isn't._ "

.

.

.

* * *

.

Tsunade cracked her knuckles with a dark grin on her face.

All the children were outside, gathered around their teacher, Iruka-sensei – Tsunade finally caught his name when Naruto shouted it in fear while running away from the angry man. It was an open area – not too big – that had a sparring ring in the center.

"Ok class!" Iruka called out with a clipboard in his hand, "We're going to do some sparing now. This will be friendly spars – simple taijutsu only." Tsunade knew he was talking to the clan kids – 'no ninjutsu, dojutsu, or any other ridiculous technique your parents taught you as an infant because they're monsters'.

It might not be an exact translation, but Tsunade thought she had Iruka pinned down fairly well at this point.

Across the field, standing next to his new friends – Cho-something and the skinny brat that ignored her earlier in the morning – was Naruto…

Sweating like it was a hundred degrees outside.

'I'm going to pulverize you for this morning' – Tsunade mouthed to her adopted brother.

Naruto gulped. Blue eyes snapped up and Naruto – for the first and likely last time in his life – politely raised his hand and squeaked, "Sensei?!"

Iruka blinked – not expecting to be interrupting before listing off the names of the first match. The brunette looked at Naruto slightly confused, "Uh… yeah Naruto?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously, "Um… I was just thinking… you weren't going to just pair us off by alphabetical order, were you?" Naruto seemed to grow some courage because he crossed his arms and gave Iruka-sensei a suspicious look, "Because that would just be lazy Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka blinked again before turning red and growling, "Of course not!" The brunette eyed his list quickly before smacking Naruto on the head with his clipboard, "And don't call your sensei lazy!"

Naruto rubbed his head and grumbled under his breath.

Coughing, Iruka quickly refocused, "Now, on to the first match… Akimichi Chouji vs…" Iruka blushed slightly as he floundered slightly to pick another name. He really was just going to go by alphabetical order.

"…Nara Shikamaru!" Iruka finished, picking the first name his eyes caught.

Naruto sighed in relief as Chouji and Shikamaru made their way into the center of the dirt field.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed, " _Brat…_ "

"Oh my gosh! He's so cool!" A high pitch voice whispered near Tsunade, causing the blonde to listen in, in interest, "Just look at him standing there – completely unafraid of having to fight anyone!"

Tsunade frowned in confusion. Onyx eyes moved from the chubby boy fidgeting nervously to the yawning twig. Tsunade shook her head, " _They can't possibly be talking about one of those two._ " The blond shrugged, " _Eh, who am I to judge? They're all snot nosed children to me._ "

A shy giggled reached Tsunade's ears, "Sasuke-kun's not afraid of anything Ino. He's a true ninja."

Tsunade quickly smacked her hand over her mouth to smother her maniacal laughter, " _Oh! This is too good!_ " Tsunade's eyes shined with amusement as they settled on Sasuke – who stood across from her, just a few feet down from Naruto. Even at the age of eight, the Uchiha boy had attracted quite a gathering of girls within their clan – whether it be for his looks or his status as second born heir to the Uchiha clan. Tsunade had the pleasure of witnessing firsthand how uncomfortable all the attention made the boy and the blond Uchiha wasted no time using it to her advantage.

Tsunade assumed, before today, that the kunoichi in training would be too focused on becoming a strong warrior – like she had when she was a child – that they would barely notice the Uchiha heir. After all, once you looked past the boy's girlish looks and his near royalty status, he was rather dull – to Tsunade at least.

However, it looked like more than half of the girls in their class were completely smitten with the stoic boy. Which, looking at things objectively, bothered Tsunade slightly.

But Tsunade was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Tsunade chuckled darkly, " _Oh, the possibilities…!_ "

"Next up…" Iruka-sensei called out, cutting Tsunade from her thoughts, "Hyuuga Hinata vs…" Iruka paused to hum before continuing, "Uchiha Tsubaki!"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow as she stepped forward into the center, near Iruka-sensei. Walking up across from her was a small girl with short dark hair. As she approached, Tsunade quickly noted that the girl's gaze wandered all over the place but refused to meet her own or her sensei's eyes.

The former medic frowned, " _Who let this girl in? She looks like she'd shatter at the slightest breeze._ " Tsunade crossed her arms and gave the girl an unimpressed frown, "You look like some kind of fawn – and not the kind found on Nara lands. At least those deer have spines."

The pale eyed girl froze in shock before seeming to mentally curl inside herself.

Tsunade shook her head before turning her head up to look at her sensei, "You aren't seriously expecting me to spar with her are you?" Tsunade pointed at Hinata, "Just look at her. If I so much as move suddenly and she'll fall apart."

Iruka turned from Tsunade to Hinata and rubbed the back of his head with a concerned expression.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted from the sidelines, "Leave him alone you big fat jerk!"

Tsunade's head snapped towards the blond – her eyes burning in rage, "Huh?!" Tsunade raised her fist and yelled, "What did you call me, you little twirp?!"

Naruto stuck out his tongue and made an ugly face, "Big. Fat. JERK!"

"That's it!" Tsunade shouted as she sped towards the whiskered faced boy, "You're dead Naruto!"

"Hold it you two!" Iruka shouted as he grabbed the back of Tsunade's shirt – holding her back from pulverizing Naruto. Tsunade cursed as she tried to twist her body around to escape from her sensei's tight hold.

Naruto crossed his arms and laughed victoriously – only infuriating Tsunade even more.

"Quiet Naruto!" Iruka shouted at the boy with a harsh tone, "Both of you have detention after class!"

Both blondes snapped their gaze up to their sensei and cried out, "What?! Why?!"

Iruka's eye twitched before he roared, "BECAUSE I SAID SO! NOW SHUT UP!"

The adopted siblings huffed in irritation.

The brown haired chunin cleared his throat and turned back to Tsunade, "Go back to the sidelines. We'll talk about your attitude after class."

Tsunade made an astonished face before making her way back to sidelines with a grumpy expression. Tsunade's icy gaze hardened on her sensei as he called the next two students forward for their spar.

" _If that chunin thinks I'm going to apologize for doing_ _ **nothing**_ _wrong, just because Shisui's there to give me a disappointed look – he's got another thing coming!_ "

.

.

.

.

* * *

.

Tsunade and Naruto sat at opposite ends of the classroom with their faces turned away from each other. It was about thirty minutes after class had gotten out and Iruka-sensei hadn't spoken a word to them yet – he just sat in front of them marking papers.

After a couple more minutes of silence – sort of… Naruto was muttering something Tsunade didn't catch and didn't care to catch – before Iruka-sensei set his pen down and looked up at the two blondes. Shifting his eyes between the two, he spoke.

"Naruto, you're free to go." Iruka told the boy with a stern look before continuing, "I expect you to behave tomorrow in class or I'll see you back here again after class."

Naruto blinked before looking over to Tsunade and then back at Iruka-sensei, "So…" Naruto started, "I can leave?"

Iruka nodded with a slight smile, "Yeah… I…" Iruka paused, trying to find his words, "You did good today Naruto. You showed true courage and kindness today by standing up for your classmate." Iruka grinned widely at the whiskered blond, "I'm proud to have you as my student."

Tsunade jaw dropped, "You have to be kidding me!" The Uchiha slammed her hands on her desk, " **I'm** the bad guy here?! Are you fucking kidding me?!"

Iruka frowned at Tsunade and crossed his arms, "Language Tsubaki!"

Tsunade clenched her teeth in anger as she crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. She didn't dare speak – knowing that anything she'd say would be filled venom.

Iruka turned back to Naruto and motioned him out the door, "Go home Naruto."

Naruto turned to Tsunade with an unsure look – suddenly really worried for his adopted sister. He didn't mean to get her in trouble. He just didn't like what she said. The young boy felt like things had gone too far now though and didn't want to leave her alone.

Iruka sighed, "I'm sorry Naruto, but this is something Tsubaki has to deal with on her own. I don't want to have to ask you again to leave."

"But Iruka-sensei…!" Naruto started but was cut off.

"Now Naruto!" Iruka told him while pointing to the door.

The blond boy pouted and gave Tsunade one last concerned look before hanging his head and walking out the door.

Tsunade didn't bother looking at Naruto when he left. She didn't blame him, but knew her rage would probably get the better of her and didn't want him caught in the crossfire. Instead, she drilled holes into her sensei.

Ten or so more minutes passed with Iruka correcting more papers and Tsunade glaring before the classroom door opened again.

Tsunade felt her heart drop into her stomach when she saw who walked through the door.

Uchiha Hikaru.

Her father – second father really.

Uchiha Hikaru was an imposing man – one of the tallest of his clan and standing at 6'1" with a stocky, muscular frame from constant taijutsu training. His hair was dark like Shisui's and was styled in a similar fashion – short, messy and slightly on the curly side. His eyes were what always caught Tsunade attention first – they were standard Uchiha color, onyx, but completely lacked any emotion.

As if he was a dead man walking.

Iruka looked up to see the Uchiha man walk into the room, dressed in the standard jounin uniform. The spikey ponytailed man bowed politely to his elder as he welcomed him into the room, "Good evening Uchiha-san. Thank you for coming on such short notice."

Hikaru's cold gaze drifted slowly to Iruka and paused before the man spoke in a low, cool voice, "I was informed that Tsubaki was disrespectful and has not completed her assignments as instructed."

Iruka paused before nodding – giving up on the elder man to come in and sit down, "Yes…" Iruka gulped slightly at the Uchiha's unemotional gaze before continuing, "Today, during the physical evaluation, I asked Tsubaki to spar with one of her classmates, Hyuuga Hinata." Iruka sighed, "She refused and called her weak – among other things."

Hikaru did not respond for a moment before speaking with an even tone, "Is that all?"

Iruka blinked a couple time in mild shock before picking up a paper off his desk and answering pitiably, "Well… she also didn't bother answering a single question on the written exam…"

The large Uchiha closed his eyes and nodded before turning his icy gaze upon Tsubaki, "You will complete the exam in its entirety with your best ability."

Tsunade frowned but nodded. The threat was clear in her father's eyes.

 _ **Upset me and you will be left to the clan elders to deal with.**_

Those were the first real words her 'father' uttered to her after getting in a fight with him over never being home and how it hurt Shisui. After that, Tsunade took great measures to give the man a wide berth whenever he strolled through their home to collect supplies or sleep.

Iruka looked between the two Uchiha before turning back to the elder, "I'm sorry… I don't mean to intrude or be disrespectful, but… aren't you going to say anything about your daughter's treatment of her classmate?"

Uchiha Hikaru slowly rose a dark eyebrow at the chunin before answering, "If Tsubaki refused to spar with your student, you should show her gratitude for demonstrating such restraint. Any other Uchiha would have harmed the girl without hesitation."

Iruka frowned, "I would have stopped the spar if things had gotten out of hand. It was taijutsu only-"

Hikaru cut the chunin instructor off as he looked up at the clock, "I do not have the time nor the interest in arguing pointless with you. Tsubaki will complete the exam under your direction and will follow your rules without question." The tall Uchiha's eyes turned icy cold, "Do not bother me again with such meaningless things."

Tsunade gritted her teeth. She knew that last part wasn't only directed at her sensei.

The brown haired chunin simply stood there with his mouth agape as the Uchiha man disappeared in a puff of smoke.

.

.

.

.

* * *

.

Shisui jumped slightly as he heard the front door slam open and shut, followed by a series of harsh footsteps and another door being slammed shut.

The curly haired Uchiha sighed. He had heard everything from Naruto when the blond walked through the door a few hours earlier with a sad expression on his face. Shisui sighed again. He didn't agree with how his sister handled herself that day, but at the same time, he worried about her. She wasn't the easiest person to understand, but her heart was in the right place. Maybe forcing her to go to the academy hadn't been the right move…

His sister was smart – a genius in a lot of way. Using the same sneaky tests he used on Itachi to see how smart the boy was, Shisui quickly figured out that Tsubaki was already far ahead of her peers in math, science, and Japanese. She also knew her history better than most shinobi Shisui knew – but it wasn't perfect, there was a large gap in knowledge between the Second Great Ninja War and now. And Shisui was fairly certain that his little sister's chakra control was on a completely different level of genius.

He had even spotted her healing herself once – something completely unheard of for an eight year old.

All in all, Shisui knew that Tsubaki didn't _**need**_ to go to the academy, but he felt it was important that she did.

His little sister was just… so lonely. It broke his heart to see her so closed off. The only people she opened up to were him and Naruto – Itachi and Sasuke to a lesser extent, but Shisui knew that was only because he and Itachi were so close and spent so much time together.

Shisui blamed his clan for his little sister's resentment towards others. They shamed her for something she had no choice in being and just thinking of it infuriated him.

Shisui let out a deep breath and got up from his seat on the couch and made his way to his sister's room. Life may not have been fair to his sister so far, but Shisui knew he would be failing her more by not teaching her the importance of kindness. Especially now, when their world needed it more than anything else…

Shisui knocked before slowly pushing the door open, "I'm coming in Tsu-chan…"

He was answered with a growl and a pillow in his face.

The elder Uchiha quickly ducked out of the way and quietly closed the door behind him. His eyes quickly spotted who he was looking for. Shisui quietly approached the bed that Tsunade was curled up on with her back to him. Shisui sighed as he sat on the edge of the bed with his hands hanging loosely in his lap.

"Tsu-chan…" Shisui called out again, in a lighter tone this time, hoping that she would face him.

Tsunade ignored her brother and pulled at the covers to show that she wasn't in the mood to deal with him.

The dark haired Uchiha sighed again. Several minutes of silence hung between them before Shisui spoke softly, "I'm sorry about today Tsu-chan. Your first day at the academy was supposed to be a happy one." Shisui looked up at the ceiling and smiled, "Naruto would cause all sorts of havoc, but make lots of friends while doing it…" Shisui chuckled, "I hear he made friends with an Akimichi and a Nara." Shisui shook his head, "Those three are going to make quite the fearsome trio – I don't envy the chunin instructors at all!"

Shisui smiled sadly again, "And I figured you would find a friend or two – someone that wasn't too loud or quiet, but understood your…" Shisui paused to smirk, "…unique form of communication and found it entertaining."

Tsunade was quiet as she listened to her brother. Her stomach twisted into a knot at his words. She didn't need some friend – some kid – to make her happy. Regardless of current circumstances, she wasn't some attention starved child, she was a grown woman. And she had Shisui and Naruto – that was all she needed. She didn't need something as pointless as a friend – they would only get in the way or disappoint her eventually.

Or die.

"Why did you say those things to your classmate?" Shisui finally asked, getting to the meat of the discussion.

Tsunade scoffed, "Because she was weak and I wasn't going to just beat her up because some idiot chunin told me to."

Shisui smiled at his sister before speaking again in an even tone, "Do you think there was a better way of saying it though?" Shisui paused, "How would you have felt if you were her?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes, "I wouldn't have been so weak to begin with."

Shisui raised an eyebrow, "What about the time you met Naruto?" Shisui knew it was a sore subject – for both of them – but he knew there was no other way of getting around to his sister.

Tsunade paused and frowned before answering quietly, "I was only six then. She's eight and the heir to the Hyuuga she should…" Tsunade cut herself off and frowned.

" _ **You are the granddaughter of the First Hokage and as such, heir to the Senju clan."**_

Tsunade felt a rush of emotions as she recalled the pressure of that statement… of the happiness that was robbed of her… of the freedom stripped from her. She might be treated like the scum of the earth by her clan for her Senju heritage, but she'd take their sneers of disgust over the sheer pressure of the village's expectation that she live up to her grandfather's name.

" _And not everyone gets to grow up with someone to love them… to care for them… to protect them…_ " Tsunade thought as she remembered when she met Naruto and learned how **truly alone** he was.

The blond Uchiha let out a light huff with no malice behind it.

"I'll apologize to her tomorrow." Tsunade said plainly.

Shisui smiled as he reached over and ruffled his sister's hair. He knew she would come around – she had the biggest heart of anyone he had ever met, after all. His Tsu-chan just needed a small push every now and then.

Shisui stood up from the bed and opened the door to leave. Just as he was about to close the door, he heard Tsunade speak.

"Shisui…"

"Yeah?" The Uchiha answered back.

"Thank you… for putting up with me."

Shisui blinked in surprised before grinning widely, "I'll always be there for you, Tsu-chan. Always."

.

.

.

.

* * *

.

"Hey."

Hinata jumped slightly at the sound of a voice behind her.

Tsunade slid into the seat next to Hinata with a smirk on her face and her hand held out, "I wanted to apologize about yesterday and if you're willing, I'd like to start over." Tsunade smiled widely at the surprised girl, "My name is Uchiha Tsubaki and I'd like to be your friend!"

Hinata blinked several times in confusion before nodding shyly and stuttering, "N-no n-n-need to apologize…" Hinata's gaze shifted down in submission, "Y-y-you were r-right… I am w-weak…"

Tsunade rolled her eyes and leaned forward with a smirk, "Then I guess we'll just have to spend our free time together training until you don't feel that way anymore." Tsunade let out a sigh, "I guess my dream of a partner in crime to explore the world's casinos will just have to wait."

Hinata giggled before blushing slightly, "Umm… you don't have to…"

Tsunade flicked the violet haired girl on the nose and smirked at her, "Too late. I've already passed out notes to all the girls in the class declaring Sasuke's love for them, so I'm going to need a friend who's got a badass dojutsu to warn me when he's getting close enough to murder me with a well-aimed kunai." Tsunade nudged Hinata with her elbow, "What do you say? Up for the challenge?"

Hinata blinked, twice, before giggling and grinning at Tsunade, "Yep!"

Tsunade grinned back.

" _Maybe the next four years won't be so bad after all._ "

.

.

.

.


	5. Chapter 5

.

Tsunade leaned against the stone railing of the building's top floor/roof to stare down at the groups of young shinobi-in-training running around on their lunch break. Onyx eyes narrowed on two groups in particular.

Tsunade stroked her imaginary beard as she hummed wistfully, "We need to find a third Power Ninja."

Hinata looked up from her bento to give Tsunade a confused look. After a moment of opening and closing her mouth, Hinata looked up at the sky and tapped her finger against her lips, "I think they're in the Snow Country right now filming." A light bulb went off in Hinata's head, causing her to smile, "I can ask Uncle Hizashi if he could talk to one of them. Big brother Neji told me that Uncle travels across the countries and often brings him back souvenirs. I don't know if he is going there any time soon though…"

Tsunade rolled her eyes at her friend and grunted, "I meant figuratively." Tsunade twisted her body around to face Hinata with a grumpy expression, "I'm tired of getting outnumbered by those idiots! Just yesterday Naruto tried to get me with some stupid paint bucket trap – which I of course saw coming a mile away…"

Hinata giggled at her blonde friend. For the many traits she had, being humble was not one of them.

"…but then that stupid twig comes out of nowhere, spouting that it's all going 'according to plan' – the little shit – and suddenly I'm being pelted with water balloons filled with paint by the blond brat and his chubby friend!" Tsunade finished with a growl, "And don't get me started on Sasuke 'daddy-issues' Uchiha!" Tsunade crossed her armed with a huff, "Even that brat's found a couple of fools willing to follow him around like lost puppies!" Tsunade let out a bark of humorless laughter, "And one of them is actually a puppy!"

Hinata sighed at her friend and spoke softly, "You shouldn't say that about Kiba Tsubaki-chan…"

Tsunade grinned widely and laughed, "I was talking about Akamaru, but I love how you think Hinata-chan!" Tsunade scooted over to Hinata and nudged her with her elbow, "My evilness is rubbing off on you!"

Hinata hid her face in embarrassment and shook her head – denying the very idea.

Tsunade just barked out another laugh before focusing back on topic, "But seriously… Naruto has Chouji and Twiggy…"

Hinata sighed, "You really should call Shikamaru by his name… I think being called 'Twiggy' really bothers him…"

Tsunade shrugged, "The brat should be grateful I didn't settle on potato head or deer turd." Tsunade finished with a loud laugh at the possible new names for her least favorite classmate.

Hinata shook her head at her friend, " _Poor Shikamaru…_ "

"Anyways…" Tsunade said, "So Naruto has those two to help him pull off his pranks and Sasuke has Shino and Kiba – and his little doggy too – to stop me from making the runt's life as miserable as possible." Tsunade grinned, "So it only makes sense that we find ourselves a third co-conspirator!"

The dark haired girl resigned to the fact that Tsunade wasn't going to let this one go and smiled lightly at the blonde, "Um… well… who were you thinking of?" Hinata poked her fingers together nervously. She wasn't sure how she felt about Tsunade looking for another friend. What if the person she picked out didn't like Hinata or thought she was boring… or stupid… or weak…

Tsunade's eyes narrowed on the quiet girl before leaning over to flick the girl's nose, "Hey, knock it off with the self-deprivation! Anyone that doesn't like you the instant they meet you is either blind or stupid!"

Hinata blinked before bringing up a hand to cover her giggles, "But Tsubaki-chan… you didn't like me when we first met."

Tsunade turned pink and turned her head away with a huff, "I'm unique!" The blonde Uchiha let out another huff and mumbled, "I came around eventually…"

Hinata giggled and nodded before clearing her throat and speaking, "Umm… what about Ino-chan or Sakura-chan?"

Tsunade groaned.

Hinata sighed, "What did you do?"

Tsunade pursed her lips, "The blonde harpy started it…"

Hinata shook her head, "I guess that means we can eliminate Sakura-chan then too…" The violet haired girl tapped her chin with her finger in thought, "We could ask big brother Neji?"

Tsunade's eye twitched and resisted dry gagging. Hyuugas in general frustrated her – with the exception of Hinata of course. They reminded her of the Uchiha, but with sticks shoved so far up their butts that she wondered how they managed to reproduce successfully. It was all 'rules' and 'proper etiquette' and 'tradition' – it made her want to sprint through their compound with nothing but her birthday suit on, just to see the looks on their stone-like faces.

Hinata's eyes shifted down, "You… don't like big brother Neji?"

Tsunade let out an internal groan. There was no getting out of this now. She couldn't make her friend sad – it was like kicking a water drenched kitten.

Tsunade cursed her weak heart.

"No, no!" Tsunade responded, "I think your big brother – cousin actually, but whatever – is really…" Tsunade's eyes shift to the right as she tried to come up with a flattering word, "…cool." She finished lamely.

Hinata perked up at her friend's words and grinned widely, "I know where his class is! We can go ask him now!"

Tsunade cried on the inside, "But Hinata…!" Tsunade's eyes searched the area, trying to come up with an excuse to avoid the icy bastard that was not shy about his opinion of Tsunade – and her 'negative influence' on his 'precious cousin'. "Break time's almost over…" Tsunade leaned in and smirked at Hinata suggestively, "And you promised my sweet little brother that you'd help him with his class project." Tsunade lifted her hands and shook her head, "Are you really going to leave poor Naruto to struggle all on his own?"

Hinata turned beat red before looking down with a conflicted look on her face. The pale eyed girl fiddled with the end of her shirt as she mumbled, "I don't want to let Naruto-kun down…" Hinata sent Tsunade a beaten puppy dog expression, "But big brother Neji will be busy tonight so I can't ask him after school and I want to help you because you're my precious friend and…"

"Alright, alright!" Tsunade cried out with a long exaggerated sigh, "You go back and snuggle up with my knucklehead brother while **I** skip class to go convince mister personality-of-a-rock to join our team of mischiefs." Tsunade let out a low groan, " _Maybe the Hyuuga bastard is right… I am corrupting Hinata… manipulating me like this…_ " Tsunade rubbed her chin and shrugged, " _Kind of makes me proud._ "

Hinata just smiled brightly at her friend.

She knew Tsubaki-chan and big brother Neji would make the best of friends – she just knew it!

.

.

.

.

* * *

.

Tsunade took a large bite out of her apple as she watched the older children run laps around the academy training grounds. She was perch high above them – on a nearby building's roof. Chewing on the fruit messily, Tsunade paused to wonder the security of the school grounds. She certainly got around fairly easily – only being caught by a passing jounin every so often.

Mostly by Obito – the nosey bastard.

Pushing the thought aside, she eyed the students closer – trying to pick out the Hyuuga in question. Tsunade frowned, " _I don't think this is the right class… or Neji's out sick._ " Tsunade let out a bark of laughter, " _Ha! As if demons get sick…_ "

Tsunade interest perked up when she saw the children branch off into groups – leaving one boy by himself. Tsunade raised an eyebrow in curiosity as one of the larger groups of boys surrounded the lone kid. They started pointing at the boy and shoving him around.

Tsunade yawned as she watched the scene below. Clearly, the boy was being picked on, but the class's teacher hadn't broken up the group, so Tsunade figured it was just boys being boys. " _Builds character._ " The blonde Uchiha thought as she tossed the remaining core of her apple behind her and hopped onto her feet, " _Well…_ " Tsunade stretched her arms out, " _I tried. Nothing I can do if the prince of ice himself isn't around to 'convince'._ " Tsunade chuckled to herself, " _Can't be helped…_ "

"Hey Lee!" The chunin instructor shouted, "Get back in line!"

Tsunade turned her head to see the dark haired boy running away from the academy grounds. She stared curiously at the back of the fleeing boy as he made his way towards one of Konoha's many patches of forest lands.

Tsunade smirked and shrugged, " _I guess it can't be helped._ "

The former war veteran pushed chakra into her feet and leaped from building to building to follow the odd looking boy into the forest. Tsunade suppressed her chakra as she landed in a tree above the boy. Leaning her back against the tree's truck and sliding down to sit on the high up branch, Tsunade stared at the boy with growing boredom.

"…sixteen, seventeen, eighteen…" The older boy grunted out as he round-housed kick a training stump.

Tsunade yawned, " _Well… this is anticlimactic._ " Tsunade folded her arms behind her head and pouted, " _Here I was hoping that this kid was some kind of bad guy in the making and I would find him plotting against his school bullies in the woods._ " Onyx eyes fluttered closed as Tsunade yawned again, " _All this running around made me tired._ " Tsunade frowned as her closed eye twitched, " _Shisui staying up late to talk with Itachi in the kitchen didn't help. Those two have been acting weird lately…_ "

Tsunade's thoughts drifted off as she fell asleep.

.

.

.

"If I cannot do two-thousand punches, then I have to do TWO-THOUSAND JUMP-ROPES!"

Tsunade's eyes snapped open at the extremely loud proclamation and quickly jumped into a defensive pose. With her feet parted wide, her fists up, and her chakra pulsing, Tsunade quickly realized – a second too late – that she in a tree. A very tall tree.

Sweat quickly formed on the back of Tsunade's neck before she fell from the tree with a hard crash at the bottom.

"Ugh…" Tsunade groaned in pain as she pulled her face out of the ground, " _How come it's always the face…_ " The former warrior blinked to clear her vision before catching big round eyes and large bushy eyebrows staring at her in bewilderment.

"What?" Tsunade spat out as she shook dirt out of her head, "Never seen a girl fall from the sky before?"

The shocked boy just stared before slowly shaking his head in the negative.

Tsunade smirked and stood up. Taking a confident pose, Tsunade laughed, "Well, it's your lucky day then kid! Revel at my greatness!"

The dark haired boy just blinked.

"Or don't." Tsunade muttered with pursed lips, "…no respect these days…"

The boy seemed to wake up from his stupor and bent his body forward in a stiff bow before shouting, "I apologize, great angel from above!" The boy's round eyes seemed to get even larger, "I have only heard stories of the great rabbit moon goddess from above but never thought I would ever meet her!" Stars sparkled in his eyes as he leaned into Tsunade's personal space with his hands clasped together – in a praying-like position, "Could it be…? Could you… could you have heard my pleas and have come to help me become the greatest taijutsu master ever?!"

Tsunade grimaced as she held up her arm as a barrier and leaned back as the boy got closer to her, "Uh… sure?" Tsunade barely focused on the kid's words, her gaze captivated by his seemly sentient caterpillar eyebrows, "Wait, what?"

The dark haired kid looked at Tsunade in awe before quickly peddling backwards and bowing again, "I must apologize again, great granter of wishes! I have not introduced myself! I am Rock Lee of the Hidden Leaf!"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "Ok… Lee…" The blonde paused to figure out what to say next, "Uh… what were you saying earlier?"

Lee looked confused before nodding and answering, "It has always been my dream to be a ninja – a great ninja who would always prevail at protecting all those important to me!" Lee paused to frown, "But I was born without the ability to use chakra effectively and as such, I cannot use ninjutsu or genjutsu…"

Tsunade's eyebrows shot up, " _Can't mold chakra? What?! How did he even get into the academy?!_ " Tsunade stared wildly at the boy in front of her, " _I've never heard anything like this! Even civilians have the potential if taught!_ "

"Even so…" Lee continued with a serious tone, "I want to prove that I can become a great ninja even without be able to use ninjutsu or genjutsu. That dream…" Lee closed his eyes and shouted, "IS EVERYTHING TO ME! So please…!" Lee locked eyes with Tsunade, "Help me mighty rabbit goddess of the moon! I will do whatever it takes!"

Tsunade gawked at the boy with her mouth wide open in shock before closing it silently.

After a few moments of silence between them, Tsunade gave Lee a deadpanned look, "Sorry kid. I'm no goddess or angel. Really." She pointed towards the tree above them, "I just fell out of a tree. _Really_. That's all."

Lee fell in shock at Tsunade's lack luster statement before quickly getting up and turning around – towards his training stump – with a hunched over, defeated look.

"One….two….."

Tsunade crossed her arms and looked away nervously as she felt a thick wave of guilt run up her back. The formed medic scoffed to herself, " _I didn't do anything wrong._ " Tsunade's eyes drifted to where Lee was slowly punching the stump – as if the very life had been sucked out of him. Tsunade hunched her shoulders, " _It's not my fault if he can't mold chakra, ok?!_ "

"…three….four…..…five…..…six…..…" Lee mumbled dejectedly.

Tsunade bit her bottom lip in frustration before glaring at the night sky, " _This is your way of punishing me for that small indiscretion, isn't it?_ " Tsunade groaned, "You accidently almost beat your teammate to death, once, and fate decides you need to spend the next **two** lifetimes making up for it…"

Onyx eyes shifted back to Lee's slow moving form.

"Lee…"

The boy popped his head up and slowly twisted his head around – his expression still miserable.

Tsunade resisted making a face of disgust at the tear and snot pouring down the kid's face.

"You said you wanted to be great, even without being able to use ninjutsu or genjutsu, right?" Tsunade asked with her arms crossed and her gaze elsewhere, "Well…" Tsunade grumbled lowly, "I think I can help you with that." Onyx eyes jolted back and forth as Tsunade muttered, "I think… maybe…"

Lee's face lit up with stars in his eyes and his mouth open wide with a smile, "Really?!" The bushy eyebrowed boy raced over and grabbed Tsunade's hands, "You really mean it?!"

Tsunade's eye twitched – stringing a series of cuss words at whichever deity thought it would be amusing to revive her – before scoffing and pushing the hopeful looking boy off her. "Of course!" Tsunade claimed confidently with her arms crossed, "I am the great Tsuna-" Tsunade coughed roughly, "I mean, I am the great Uchiha Tsubaki – future world's greatest medic and all around badass!" Tsunade smirked with sharp eyes, "Stick with me kid and you'll be great! I guarantee it!"

.

.

.

.

.

 _ **One Week Later**_

.

Tsunade panted harshly as her legs floundered uselessly beneath her. Slowly raising a hand in front of her, Tsunade used the last bits of her oxygen to call out, "Wait…Lee…I…can't…Lee…slow…down…" Tsunade collapsed on the ground – face first – like a lifeless doll. A lightly tanned, shaky hand slowly rose from the lump that was Uchiha Tsubaki, "Dammit…Lee…"

The boy in question quickly made a U-turn and jogged back to where Tsunade was crumpled on the ground, "Tsubaki-chan? Are you giving up already?!" Lee jogged in place as he shook his head, "We are only at lap sixty around the village! We must complete one hundred or we will have to face our punishment: A thousand pushups!"

Tsunade's blonde head snapped up, "What?! I didn't agree to this!"

Hinata slowly jogged up to them – she agreed to train with them, but told them to go on ahead until she was able to build up her stamina. The pale eyed girl blinked at her female friend, "But didn't you promise Lee-kun that you would train with him to become the best taijutsu master the five nations had ever seen?"

Tsunade's onyx eyes narrowed on Hinata, "…I'm starting to understand the reason why the Hyuuga and Uchiha don't get along…"

Hinata only giggled at Tsunade – having been her friend long enough to know when she was being mean and when she was just whining in self-pity.

"How are you feeling Hinata-chan?" Lee asked with a grin, "We can go slower if you prefer!"

"PLEASE!" Tsunade shouted.

Hinata shook her head and smiled kindly at Lee, "No, please don't hold back for me Lee-kun." Hinata gave him a cheerful and cute fist pump, "I'll catch up to you and Tsubaki-chan soon because that is my ninja way!"

"Hey! Don't listen to her!" Tsunade cried out, "She's just being nice! We really should slow down! Really!"

Lee felt tears gather in his eyes before shouting, "Hinata-chan! Your passion has encouraged me to try even harder! To push me past my limits even further!"

"Hey! Come on!" Tsunade growled out, "Don't ignore me!"

Lee's eyes lit up with flames as he raised his fist in the air before grabbing Tsunade by her wrist and pulling her with him, "Come on Tsubaki-chan! We have a hundred and thirty more laps around the village that we must complete before the sun sets!"

"Hey! Wait! Ack!" Tsunade cried out as she was dragged behind the newly energized Lee.

Hinata giggled before jogging after her friends.

.

.

.

"LEE!"

.

.

.

.

.

* * *

.

Tsunade slammed the door to her home open.

Shisui and Itachi jumped slightly before blinking in wonderment of the image before them. Pieces of Tsunade's shoes were flapping about and looked like they were barely holding together by a thread. Her shorts and shirt weren't in any better shape – if only still in one piece. She was covered in mud, grass, and leaves from head to toe and her face looked like she had gotten in a fight with a stray cat and lost. Badly.

Cold obsidian eyes narrowed on the two Uchiha men.

" _ **Not. A. Word.**_ " Tsunade spat with the thickest, disturbed voice both Uchiha had ever recalled hearing.

Shisui gulped and just motioned to the kitchen with a nervous smile.

Tsunade huffed at her brother before stomping slowly over to the bathroom.

The elder Uchiha cringed as the bathroom door slammed with a loud boom and a scream from the poor hinges.

Itachi raised both eyebrows at his older friend, "It seems it is time for me to go home."

Itachi couldn't move fast enough to avoid Shisui's grip of death on his arm. "You can't leave me in here with her! She's possessed!"

The younger Uchiha shifted his dull gaze from his trapped arm to Shisui's desperate eyes and then back to his arm. Itachi brought his free hand up to his chin in thought, " _It's not my dominate arm. I could survive without it._ "

Shisui's eyes caught the betrayal and hissed at his friend, "You can't be serious Itachi! I thought we were friends! Best friends! Brothers?!"

The bathroom door opened slowly with a long, high pitched, ghostly squeal – catching both men's attention. A dark, shadowy outline of some kind of demon appeared from behind the threshold, making both Uchiha jounin freeze in horror. Time stilled for a moment before a bleeding hand shot out from the shadows and gripped the door frame.

Shisui let out a high pitched squeal of terror as Itachi swiftly pulled out a short blade to slice his arm off.

"Shisui-nii? Itachi?" A voice called from the front door.

Shisui quickly let go of Itachi and dived for the small Uzumaki – wrapping this arms around the boy protectively with tears in his eyes, "No! I won't let you take Naruto-kun! You'll have to kill me first!"

Tsunade scoffed as she exited the bathroom with her hair tied up in a towel and her pajamas on. Her dark gaze moved to her younger brother, "Stop leaving your stupid kunai in strange places Naruto!" Tsunade held up her slightly bleeding hand, "I went to go grab my toothbrush and grabbed the kunai instead!"

Naruto squeezed himself out of Shisui's tight grip before scratching the back of his head with a laugh, "Sorry Tsubaki! I was wondering where I put that…"

Tsunade just rolled her eyes and stomped towards her room, "I'm going to bed! Don't bug me!"

Shisui let out a breath of relief before standing up straight and looking down at Naruto, "Welcome home Naruto! How was class? Did you and your friends do anything fun after?" Shisui paused to twist his back slightly to grin at Itachi, "Meet you at the department tomorrow morning?"

Itachi nodded before tipping his head to Naruto, "Good evening Naruto."

Naruto grinned back and waved, "See you Itachi! Tell Sasuke-butt hi for me!"

Itachi smiled and nodded before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Shisui smiled at where his friend once stood before turning back to Naruto with an excited grin, "So? Tell me about your day!"

Naruto let out a cheerful laugh before opening his mouth to give his brother a replay of his adventures, "…and then we learned about how to make leaves stick to our foreheads!" Naruto pursed his lips into a pout and gave Tsunade's door a narrowed look, "Tsubaki was able to make her leaf stick the first time _**and**_ kept it there the whole class – just to rub it in my face that I couldn't get mine to stay!"

Shisui bit his lip to stop himself from laughing outright at his siblings. The elder Uchiha always thought it'd be Sasuke and Naruto that would be 'eternal rivals', but the two boys had a sort of odd kinship towards each other – like they were long lost brothers – and wholly support each other. A support that was typically forged to form schemes on getting Tsubaki back for some prank she had played on one of them.

That was his sister for you – bringing people together to fight against an overconfident, sassy and slightly evil Uchiha…

.

Sometimes Shisui wondered if Tsubaki was the reincarnation of Uchiha Madara.

.

Shisui shivered, " _Now_ _ **that's**_ _a scary thought…_ "

"…so Shikamaru, Chouji and I decided to go hang out at Ichiraku's instead." Naruto continued, not realizing that Shisui stopped listening for a second to get lost in his thoughts. Naruto's face twisted into an uncomfortable look.

Shisui blinked and his older brother senses started to tingle, "What is it Naruto?" Worried started to bubble in the Uchiha's stomach, "Did something bad happen?"

Naruto shrugged and gave a thoughtful look before shaking his head no. "I…" Naruto's frown deepened as his gaze shifted down and to the side. "Is… there something… bad about me Shisui-nii?"

"What? No!" Shisui spoke immediately, "You're amazing Naruto!" Shisui grinned widely and poked the boy in his chest, "And you have the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met." Shisui smiled, "You're always cheerful and hopeful, but you also know when to be serious and support those around you – whether they be a friend or a stranger." Shisui's eyes softened, "You're incredible Naruto. Don't ever forget that."

Naruto shifted shyly at his brother's words before grinning widely up at the elder boy, "Thanks Shisui-nii!" The blond shot forward and wrapped his arms around his elder brother and squeezed.

Shisui chuckled at his little brother and ruffled the boy's hair affectionately. Shisui sighed internally before gently pulling the small boy back and kneeling down to his level. Locking eyes with Naruto's blue ones, Shisui spoke in a serious tone, "Naruto. I need you to be honest and open with me here. It's really important, ok?"

Naruto paused for a second before nodding.

Shisui smiled lightly, "Thank you. Now…" Shisui's smile fell, "What happened today Naruto?"

Naruto twitched slightly before speaking quietly, "The people in town always give me these looks…" Naruto paused to try to figure out how to explain it, "Like… they hate me or are afraid of me…" Naruto shrugged before twitching nervously again, "But they usually just mutter stupid things… no one has ever…"

Shisui rubbed the sides of Naruto's arms and gave the boy an encouraging smile even though the Uchiha was boiling with growing rage on the inside. The very thought of someone treating his precious brother so… inhumanely made him… incredibly angry.

Shisui quickly shoved his feelings as far back into his gut as possible. He had to be present for Naruto as a positive role model in the boy's life – not a hate filled one.

"You're doing great Naruto." Shisui reassured the small boy, encouraging him to continue.

Naruto let out a small smile before speaking again, "A couple guys leaving Ichiraku's stopped when they saw me and said… they said that I was…" Naruto's fists tightened and his teeth clenched, "They said I was a monster and that Shikamaru's and Chouji's parents were idiots for letting me hang out with them because I was going to 'rip them to shreds one day like the demon I am' and…" Naruto hissed in anger, "I would **never,** _ **ever**_ hurt Chouji or Shikamaru, Shisui-nii! _**Never**_!"

Shisui quickly nodded, "I know Naruto. I know. I meant what I said earlier. I know you would never hurt someone close to you." Shisui smiled softly, "I've seen you go out of your way to avoid stepping on a single ant – hopping around like silly frog." Shisui grinned and flicked Naruto's nose lightly, "And if that makes you a monster, we'll be monsters together – you, me, Tsu-chan, Shikamaru-kun, Chouji-kun, Sasuke-kun, Itachi – all of us."

Naruto grinned widely before giving Shisui a narrowed eye look.

"What?" Shisui asked with a slightly bewildered look.

Naruto crossed his arms with a huff, "Tsubaki's worse than a monster – she's like the cat demon in the stories!"

Shisui flicked Naruto hard on the nose and gave him a firm look, "Naruto."

Naruto held his nose in pain as he pouted before shifting a guilty look up to his stern looking elder brother. "Sorry…" Naruto mumbled out, "I didn't mean it…"

Shisui let his stern look hold for a second longer before giving Naruto a soft smile and ruffling his blond hair again, "Naruto, no matter what anyone says or does – even if what they done is unforgivable – don't ever, _**ever**_ forget to be kind." Shisui grinned gently at his little brother, "Don't become what you hate by hating back. Be stronger. Be braver."

Shisui stood up and grinned widely, "Always be Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage and the man whose heart has no limits or barriers."

Naruto grinned widely back up at Shisui and gave him a confident thumbs up, "Haha! You got it Shisui-nii! Believe it!"

.

.

.

.

.

.

" _Even now, they hate him…_ " Tsunade stared blankly into her dark room, " _Why?!_ "

Tsunade leaned with her back against her door, holding her fist tight to her chest. She didn't understand it. She couldn't comprehend it. How could her village, her people, be so cruel? So hateful? What happened to the oasis of peace her grandfather built in a land of strife with death and cruelty?

Her jaw clenched as she gritted her teeth.

Tsunade let out a long breath of air as her whole body went numb and she slowly slide down the door.

A thin string of tears rolled down her shadowed face.

She knew who let the ball drop and it wasn't the villagers, the Uchiha, any of the clans, or even her former sensei.

Her granduncle's words echoed in her head.

" _ **Would you instead place that burden on one of them?"**_

Her grandfather let her know that day, and every day after, who he entrusted the village to.

" _ **No matter what happens… you must protect our village Tsunade. I believe that protecting the village is the best way to protect civilians, shinobi, and children… to create an everlasting peace between all."**_

But she turned her back on the village… on him, on her family, on her comrades, and on the memories of her loved ones.

" _ **I'm done Jiraiya. I'm just done – with this place, with these people. Screw it all! They took everything from me so SCREW THEM!"**_

Her own words ripped through heart – leaving a deep scar.

.

Her grandfather trusted her to protect what was most precious to him and she spat on his grave; kicked dirt on it; turned her back and scorned all those she left behind.

.

Tsunade's throat pulsed in pain as she brought a hand up to cover her face and smother her tears.

.

Worse yet. She didn't just let her grandfather down.

.

She let Dan and Nawaki down too.

.

And the very thought nearly killed her all over again.

.

.

.

.

.

* * *

.

.

It was a bright and warm day in Konoha, as Tsunade walked at a slow pace through the Uchiha Clan's compound. " _Things are quiet around here today._ " Tsunade thoughts as she eyed the traffic on the streets. There were only a few Uchiha out and about – mostly civilians which meant they didn't give her a second thought as she walked past them. Much of the civilian population of the Uchiha clan were craftsmen or merchants, so they often associated with a variety of people – clan and non-clan shinobi, other civilians, traveling merchants, etc. – and didn't recognize the Senju for who she was most of the time.

It was the shinobi forces within the Uchiha clan that could feel how different her chakra and recall the words of their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents who spoke to them, over and over again, about the demon Senju and their need for Uchiha blood.

Tsunade often wondered how the two clans ever came together to form the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"Oi!" A voice called out, "Senju-san!"

Tsunade's eye twitched slightly before she stopped and turned her head with a raised eyebrow.

A boy, just a couple years younger than her, ran up to her with a wide grin on his face, "Sorry Senju-san!" The small Uchiha's grin widened, "Is Naruto around?! He said he would play ninja with us this weekend!"

Tsunade's eyebrow rose higher, "Us?" Tsunade lifted her gaze to figure out where the rest of his friends were. Onyx eyes fell on a small group of three Uchiha children hiding behind a building a few feet away – with only their heads peeking out. When they saw her gaze fall on them, they all jumped and disappeared behind the wall.

The boy nodded vigorously, "Yeah! Me, Yori, Takashi and Kida!" The Uchiha boy started jumping up and down, "So?! Is big brother Naruto around?!"

Tsunade crossed her arms and hummed in thought before mumbling, "I don't think he's made it to the compound gates yet. If you guys are quick, you'll probably be able to ambush him."

The boy jumped slightly at the word 'ambush' before chuckling evilly and racing off to where his friends were hiding – yelling to them about 'finally winning' against their 'big brother Naruto'.

Tsunade shook her head as she continued on her path towards the clan's shinobi warehouse. " _Calling me Senju-san..._ " Tsunade scoffed as she turned a corner, " _Well, I guess it's a step up from 'savage'._ " The stone walls of the Uchiha's shinobi warehouse came into view and Tsunade quietly slipped through the front door.

A tall Uchiha man with short black hair lifted his head at the sound of the door opening and closing. Upon seeing the small blonde Uchiha, the man smirked, "Ah, Tsubaki. What brings you here today?" The man went back to polishing a set of kunai, "Come to help me, by chance?"

Tsunade smirked at the older man, "Ha! Not a chance, Ryuusuke!" Tsunade picked at her nails, "I might break a nail."

Uchiha Ryuusuke was the clan's Quartermaster – aka, the man in charge of the clan's inventory of weapons, armor, medical supplies, camping supplies, emergency rations, etc. He took his job very seriously as he was from a long line of master weapon and armor craftsmen for the Uchiha clan. The man often bragged about how his grandfather personally fashioned all of Uchiha Madara's weapons and armor – his greatest works being Madara's iconic blood armor and gunbai.

It was a matter of pride that any weapon, piece of armor, or even simple explosive tag that came from his department be a grade above what the other clans produced. Ryuusuke was also completely anal when it came to his inventory logs, storage systems, and restocking processes – so no one could just _**walk in**_ and take from the clan's warehouse without going through the proper protocols and practically signing their lives away.

Despite finding such lack of chaos mind numbingly boring, Tsunade really respected the older Uchiha.

Tsunade met Ryuusuke when she hid in one of his storage bays to escape a couple of Uchiha teenagers looking to pick a fight with the clan's resident 'pet Senju' – as they called her at the time. The older man was one of the first Uchiha she met that didn't give her blonde hair a second look, but instead, let the teenaged boys 'fall on their faces' a few times before kicking them out of his warehouse.

Ryuusuke let out a deep bark of laughter and threw one of his rags at Tsunade's head, "That's rich coming from the girl that solves all her problems with her fists." The dark haired man motioned to the long sword on his counter, "If you do a decent job, I'll show you what one of our research teams just found."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow as she approached the counter and started cleaning the sword. "Weapon or armor?" Tsunade asked with a curious tone, "And I have another topic to pick your mind over, when you have a minute."

"Weapon. Well, part of one." Ryuusuke answered plainly before continuing, "And the only thing I have on my agenda is to finish these weapons for Fugaku-sama."

Tsunade looked down at the sword and gave it a curious look, "I didn't know our clan head specialized in kenjutsu."

The older Uchiha grinned, "He doesn't. Mikoto-sama does."

Tsunade let out a wicked grin.

"But I don't think that was your question." Ryuusuke stated.

Tsunade shook her head and frowned at her reflection in the blade metallic surface. After a pause of silence, Tsunade spoke with an aloof tone, "Naruto seems to be integrating well. Have you heard anything?"

Most of the clan might see Ryuusuke as nothing more than their Quartermaster, but Tsunade knew better. It was always the secretaries and office workers that were the best sources of information and Ryuusuke was not only in the perfect position to overhear before and after mission conversations, but also had the intelligence and curiosity to strategically pull even more information out of their clan members.

To be blunt, the man was an unashamed gossip.

Ryuusuke send Tsunade a look that she couldn't quite pin down – somewhere between suspicion and concern – before speaking, "Your adopted brother has quite the energetic personality." Ryuusuke smirked, "Like a puppy."

Tsunade grinned back wickedly.

"He's becoming a bit of a ring leader among the children." Ryuusuke continued, "And he's wormed his way into the hearts of our elderly population through them." The Uchiha shrugged as he grabbed the kunai and began placing them carefully into their box, "There's no real reason that the Uchiha Clan wouldn't welcome him in, to be frank. The Uchiha are a lot more welcoming to non-Uchiha integrating in then most other clans in Konoha. The boy's pranks can be sometimes overboard, but our ranking police captains and lieutenants think its good training for their rookie staff, so no one really minds them."

Tsunade nodded as she sheathed the clan's matriarch's sword.

Ryuusuke gave Tsunade a side eyed look and frowned, "Does it bother you?"

 _Does it bother you that they care for Naruto – an outsider – but hate you, they're own blood?_ – is what he was really asking and they both knew it.

"No." Tsunade answered immediately, "Those in the village – non-Uchiha – still treat Naruto like he's some kind of monster." Tsunade bit the inside of her cheek to keep her emotions locked deep inside her. She was still raw from last night and… for all the horrible things the Uchiha clan had done to her since she was born, she couldn't help but feel an immense amount of gratitude towards them for loving her brothers the way they did.

Tsunade handed the sword to Ryuusuke and gave the man a half smile, "I'm glad Naruto is among people that welcome him for who his is – a pretty damn awesome kid."

Ryuusuke smirked back and nodded with softening features before reaching out to ruffle Tsunade's hair, "You're a pretty damn awesome kid yourself, brat."

Tsunade's eye twitched as she glared up at the man before smirking, "And you're not too bad of a gossip, old man."

Ryuusuke scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Watch it kid. I may be just a glorified inventory clerk, but that doesn't mean I still don't have a trick or two up my sleeve from my time out of the field."

Tsunade grinned, "I'd like to see that, one of these days."

Ryuusuke smirked back, "Graduate first girly. Then we can talk about you taking on half the Uchiha clan to show them what you're really made of."

Tsunade raised her hands up and gave the man an innocent look, "I have no idea what you're talking about. I was just saying that a friendly spar might be just what you need to keep those old joints of yours from rusting completely."

Ryuusuke grunted and picked up the sword, kunai set, and an armored vest and dropped them on Tsunade, "Here! Since you're so young and spry, you get to deliver this to our clan head!"

"Ack!" Tsunade whizzed out as the heavy equipment dropped on her unexpectedly, "That's not what I came here for old man!"

Ryuusuke grinned and laughed loudly as he kicked Tsunade out of his warehouse.

.

.

.

.

* * *

.

 _ **One Year Later**_

.

"Lee… do you think they'll fail you just because you can't use ninjutsu?" Hinata asked the older boy.

Tsunade ducked swiftly to avoid Lee's punch and quickly grabbed the boy's arm to throw him over her shoulder. As soon as Lee felt contact on his forearm, the dark haired boy kicked off from the ground to swing his body around for a round house kick. Tsunade pushed chakra into her feet and kicked off the ground and propelled backwards.

Tsunade and Lee were currently sparring in one of the village's training forests – testing their new taijutsu techniques and training their bodies to act instinctively during combat. Hinata was sitting off to the side – watching for mistakes in their movements and waiting for her turn to spar.

"They won't." Tsunade responded once she caught her breath, "They'd have to be blind, stupid or insane not to see the incredible potential Lee has." Tsunade quickly side stepped to avoid another swift upper cut.

"Thank you Tsubaki." Lee replied in his normal tone – a mix between cheerful and robotic, "But what Hinata-chan says is likely to be the case."

Tsunade clicked her teeth and slammed her elbow into Lee's incoming kick – blocking it and sending him back with a push of chakra. Lee quickly caught himself and dashed around Tsunade to attack her with a barrage of punches.

"So you're just giving up?!" Tsunade hissed as she desperately tried to keep up with the speed of Lee's jabs with sweat pouring down her face and neck.

Lee pushed himself off the ground and flipped over Tsunade, bringing his leg down for a hard hit. "I will never give up on my dream to be the greatest ninja and taijutsu master!" Lee spoke with a clear and confident tone.

Tsunade cursed lowly as she twisted her body around and putting a chakra coated arm up to block Lee's violent slam. The blonde Uchiha hissed in slight pain as her arm took the hit and the force of it caused her to stumble backwards. Lee shot towards her immediately with another series of attacks. Tsunade cursed again as her stance wobbled and her eyes struggled to keep up. The former medic knew the second she messed up when her vision incorrectly assessed where Lee's next punch was coming to. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth as Lee's fist smashed straight into her jaw and cheek.

Lee backed off immediately.

Tsunade brought a hand up to the side of her face and spat out a wad of blood, "Damn that hurt…" Tsunade smirked at Lee, "Nice one."

Lee shifted nervously – still not used to going all out on a girl – before grinning back, "You were a fierce opponent as well Tsubaki! I would have not been able to hit you if you weren't holding back yourself."

Tsunade's hand glowed green as she healed her cheek and jaw before scoffing at the training obsessed boy, "Don't act like you weren't holding back yourself, dork." Tsunade smirked and brought her hands to Lee's injuries and began healing them as well, "Your taijutsu is getting stronger with each passing day." Tsunade shook her head in slight amazement, "And your speed is just ridiculous. It almost makes me wish I had the capability to use the Sharingan because, frankly, that's the only way I'm going to be able to keep up a year from now."

Hinata walked up to them and nodded to Lee with a confident smile, "Forgive me for my question earlier, Lee-kun. Tsubaki is right." Hinata nodded cheerfully, "I have no doubt you will be at the top of your class and the instructors are wise. They will see how deep your commitment and determination is and will surely promote you to genin without a second thought!"

Lee grinned at his friend and quickly wrapped his arms around Tsunade and Hinata to hug them tightly, "You words inspire me! I will, indeed, give my all in the graduation exam and come out ahead – even surpassing the prodigy that is your cousin, Hinata-chan!" Lee squeezed harder with tears in his eyes – earning an angry growl from Tsunade and a giggle from Hinata. "Or I will run a thousand, no a million laps around Konoha – ON MY HANDS!"

Tsunade squirmed out of Lee's grasp and huffed in irritation before rolling her eyes, "Just make sure to break the bastard's nose when you do so, would ya?"

"Tsubaki!" Hinata spoke with a slightly harsh tone before turning back to Lee with a concerned look, "Don't listen to Tsubaki-chan Lee, please? Big brother Neji would pout for days if you broke his nose."

Tsunade started laughing and held her stomach in pain as her laughter got away from her, "Please, PLEASE Lee!" Tsunade's laughter got louder, "I NEED this! Seeing him pout would almost be better than the time I drugged Fiddle-stick and dressed him up as a girl before dropping him off at Naruto's birthday party!"

"Tsubaki!" Hinata chastised again with a pout, "And stop being so mean to Shikamaru-kun." The pale eyed girl shook her head with a sigh, "That poor boy…"

Tsunade scoffed, "Demon. I think you mean demon."

"Do not worry, Hinata-chan." Lee stated with a thumbs up and grin. "Neji is a formidable opponent and while it is one of my goals to beat him, I do not believe my victory will be so easily won. It will be a great challenge just to strike him at all, with his signature move set being what it is – a near impenetrable defense." Lee turned his gaze to Tsunade and smiled, "As Tsubaki-chan says often to me, I will have to act like a shinobi and not a samurai, if I am to overcome my challenges. I have to rely on more than just my speed and strength."

Tsunade crossed her arms and smirked with her eyes closed. " _Lee… I have no doubt you are going to be one of the strongest shinobi Konoha has ever seen._ " Tsunade looked up at the clouds before shifting her eyes to her friends, "Bout time someone started listening to me."

Hinata sighed before grinning and giggling.

Lee began stretching and looked over to Hinata, "Would you like to spar Hinata-chan?"

Hinata nodded confidently and took a defensive stance.

Tsunade clicked her teeth and tapped the side of her foot on Hinata's right heel, "You're feet are too far a part." The blonde crossed her arms with a huff, "That old man of yours should be sent to the Yamanakas to get his sanity checked for even thinking he had any ability to teach."

Hinata shifted her stance and gave Tsunade a quiet whine, "Can't you get along with any of my family?"

Tsunade placed a hand over her heart with an aghast look, "Hanabi loves me! We always have a blast together!"

Hinata shook her head, "Which is another reason why my father won't ever let you back into the compound."

Tsunade smirked wickedly, "You turn a man's favorite nephew hair purple, once, and he never lets it go." Tsunade shrugged with her hands up, "His loss."

Lee brought his hand up to his chin and narrowed his eyes on Tsunade with an inquisitive look.

"What?" Tsunade asked with a huff.

Lee paused for a moment before slowly speaking, "I am starting to notice a trend…" The dark haired boy rubbed his chin some more before announcing with a proud look, "Could you be developing a crush on Neji? I thought your feelings for Shikamaru were strong and true?" Lee started to mumble to himself, "Can a girl care for more than one boy? Does this mean that if I admit my feelings for Sakura-chan now, even though she is love with Uchiha-san, that there is a chance that she could return my feelings?"

.

Silence swept through the forest as the wind blew.

.

"Tsubaki-chan…" Hinata spoke tentatively as she slowly approached the frozen Uchiha with her hands up, "You know how Lee-kun is… he doesn't always understand people…"

Lee frowned at Hinata, "Is my statement not correct?" Lee hummed in thought, "Gai-sensei told me that girls pick on the ones they like and Tsubaki-chan is always picking on Shikamaru, so…"

"Gai… _**sensei…?**_ "

Hinata winced at the sudden spike in dark chakra coming from her friend. Tsubaki was the most loyal and dedicated person she had ever met - just like Naruto-kun. But unlike Naruto, her friend would get extremely jealous and protective whenever someone got too close to either Lee or herself. Tsubaki and Neji's relationship was a prime example of two protective - and a bit possessive - forces coming head to head with disastrous consequences.

To hear Lee call someone – someone neither of them knew – 'sensei' out of the blew, on top of being accused of liking her self-dubbed nemesis…

The earth beneath Lee's feet cracked and split, making the boy jump.

Tsunade gripped the front of Lee's shirt and pull him close – her face dark and full of the promise of pain, "Who. Is. This. _**GAI-SENSEI?**_ " Tsunade's voice dropped, " **And** _ **where**_ **can I find** _ **him**_ **?** "

.

Lee sweated nervously.

.

" _Forgive me Gai-sensei!_ "

.

.

.

.

.

.

 _ **Elsewhere in Konoha  
**_

.

.

"Kakashi!" Gai shouted with an aggressive point of his finger followed up by a loud and confident laugh, "We are even, with 20 wins each! I challenge you to the greatest battles of all time to break this unbearable tie of wills!"

Kakashi sighed heavily as his shoulders dropped. He was tired. It had been a long week, between his ANBU duties, spending time with his teammate, and arguing with his father, the silver haired shinobi was beat. The last thing he needed was a challenge from Gai.

"Ah, Gai-kun." Rin spoke softly on her silvered haired teammate's right, "All three of us were just about to head to Ichiraku's for lunch. You would like to join us?" The brown haired medic was hoping to mediate the situation with food, as she knew that Kakashi was tired from working a long shift the night before.

"We can wait!" Obito cut in quickly with a laugh at his teammate's expense. The Uchiha walked around Rin and patted Kakashi on the back, "Come on man! Don't leave your eternal rival waiting!"

Kakashi gave his loud teammate a tired look, "Someone's still sore about last night's poker game I see."

Obito stiffened immediately as Rin snapped her head around and narrowed her eyes on Obito, "Poker game?" Her tone thinned, "I thought you said the two of you had a mission last night…"

Obito laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head, "Um, ah, you see… we did… but uh… we got done early and you know… uh…" Obito shifted his gaze to Kakashi and hissed at him, "Some _friend_ you are!"

Kakashi sighed again and looked to Gai, "I don't want to..."

Gai laughed loudly at his comrade, "Do not think such words will deter me so easily!" Gai's teeth sparkled as he grinned widely and gave him a thumbs up, "Nothing will stop I, Maito Gai, from winning this time and breaking the score to a satisfactory 21 to 20 in my favor! Ahahahaha!"

Kakashi's shoulders sagged, "Gai, I'm really…" Kakashi trailed off when he saw a cloud of dust forming suspiciously in the distance behind his longtime friend and rival.

Gai grinned, thinking Kakashi was relenting to his youthful passion for victory, "Excited? Yes! Why wouldn't you be for such a great challenge! It will be a race across Konoha-"

"Oh shit!" Obito called out quickly as he grabbed Rin and leaped away, "MOVE!"

"Huh?" Kakashi and Gai asked at the same time as they turned to Obito's fleeing form.

"KOKURYU SMASH!" A loud, high pitched voice roared from above Gai.

The green clad shinobi quickly moved out of the way as a small girl with blonde hair slammed her fist into the pavement where Gai once stood. Gai's and Kakashi's eyes went wide as the ground exploded from the force of her punch and the pressure of her chakra blew a violent wind up at them.

Tsunade straightened up her back and glared darkly at the bowl cut haired shinobi, "You."

Gai blinked at pointed to himself with a stunned look, "Me?"

Kakashi took a long step to the side and slide away from Gai.

Tsunade cracked the knuckles in her fist and smirked with a demented look in her eyes, "Get near Lee again and I will fuck your nervous system up so badly that every time you try to blink your fist is going to punch you in the balls!"

Gai and Kakashi looked to each other again, with a bewildered look.

Gai turned back to Tsunade and grinned, "I am sorry, little girl, but I don't understand what I have done."

Tsunade's eye twitched at the 'little girl' part.

.

Kakashi took another step away from his friend in response.

.

"But Lee is a fine young man – no, he is even greater than that!" Gai shouted proudly with fire in his eyes and his fist raised up, "He is the embodiment of youthful passion at its finest and I am only honored be able to teach him what I can before he graduates from the academy!"

Tsunade's eye twitched again, but this time it was in irritation rather than rage. Her sharp protective instincts towards Lee became dulled by Gai's words and sincerity. Frowning, the blonde Uchiha crossed her arms. " _Damn. This brat doesn't seem so bad._ " Tsunade turned her head and clicked her teeth, " _I really wanted to beat something up too…_ "

Gai grinned at the young girl before looking down at the small crater in the ground. His eyes lit up at Tsunade. "It seems his has good company too! You must be the girl he speaks about often!"

Tsunade turned her gaze back to Gai and raised an eyebrow before narrowing her eyes.

Kakashi lifted a hand to stop his friend, "Uh, Gai? I really don't think…" Kakashi had spent enough years and painful moments with Gai to know that things always went south quickly when the man tried to compliment women.

Gai ignored his friend as he placed his hands on his hips and laughed loudly, "I had originally thought his 'cherry blossom' – as he affectionately calls you – had pink hair, but I must have been mistaken in our bouts of youthful discussions on romance! Hahaha!" Gai wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, "Tell me, you are quite taken with Lee, right?" Gai laughed proudly, "Why wouldn't you be?! Lee is a fine boy and will become an even greater man! Ahaha!"

Tsunade's eyebrows shot up into her hair line before letting out a deep, inhuman growl, " **He. Said. What?** " Tsunade's hand twitched murderously.

The sound of someone falling off a building caught Kakashi's attention. When he turned, his expression dulled as he watched his Uchiha teammate on the ground, laughing hard with tears in his eyes, "Her?! Tsubaki-chan?! A cherry blossom?! BAHAHAHAHAAHA!"

Gai nodded proudly with his eyes closed, "Indeed! And I can see why! With this much youthful passion!" Gai motioned to the large cracks in the ground, "Such strength reminds me of the stories of the great princess Tsunade!"

Tsunade would have felt satisfaction from that statement, had he not followed it up with a statement that had her boiling with rage.

"My apprentice has chosen a great girlfriend indeed!"

.

.

Tsunade had _**seen**_ her clansmen use the Fireball Jutsu several times, but never had attempted it herself.

.

.

But the artistic side of her just couldn't see the picture before her without the deep red and orange colors of tall, raging flames.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 _ **Later That Evening at Konoha's Hospital**_

.

Sakumo sighed at the chart before him before looking down at his patient. The long haired man raised an eyebrow, "When I said that I would like to see you more often, this isn't what I meant Kakashi."

Kakashi gave his father a tired, one eyed look before groaning slightly, "Blame Gai…"

The corner of Sakumo's lips turned up slightly, "How did you even get caught? I'd like to believe my son is faster than an eleven year old."

Kakashi's face darkened as he mumbled.

Sakumo frowned, "I'm sorry. I didn't catch that."

The younger Hatake gave his father a dull, almost annoyed look, "…I tripped over Obito…"

.

Sakumo blinked – completely stunned.

So he blinked.

And blinked again.

.

Before throwing his head back and laughing **hard**.

.

.

.

And he didn't stop laughing for several hours, despite all the wide eyed and strange looks all the nurses and other doctors gave him.


End file.
